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US NEWS 
President Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Biden,
I hope this letter finds you in good health.
I am writing to you from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, the neighbouring nation to the north. As a Canadian, I have been following your energy policy, and resulting actions, quite closely since they directly affect my country and wellbeing.
Since our two countries have had a long-standing allyship, particularly with regards to energy, I was quite perplexed to learn that your administration has been in contact with Libya, Saudi Arabia, and other OPEC nations to increase production after placing a ban on the import of 700,000 barrels per day of Russian oil. I was then gobsmacked to learn more recently about talks of potentially relaxing sanctions on Venezuela and Iran to help with supply constraints and the resulting pain at the pumps.
Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro is a close ally to Russia, thereby, you’d be replacing one dictator’s oil with another’s.
All this when only a little over a year ago you were adamant that America must get off oil, canceling the permit for the 830,000 barrel per day capacity Keystone XL Pipeline expansion.
Nonetheless, we cannot perseverate on the fate of Keystone. It won’t provide needed immediate relief, and construction is unlikely to resume any time soon to help with future geopolitical issues. TC Energy recently said the project will not proceed. I can’t blame them. Why would any company build infrastructure in a jurisdiction with uncertain business and regulatory requirements, one in which a change of government can derail years of work and millions to billions of dollars spent?
As Europe tries to figure out how to get off Russian oil while ensuring access to sufficient supplies of reliable energy products, the US is fortunate to have its own resources, and a stable, dependable partner with plenty of oil and gas available – Canada.
Don’t reject our products simply because you’ve heard misinformation from an anti-oil campaign that was intended to disseminate deceitful information. A majority (95%) of Canada’s oil that’s been the subject of your ire – the oilsands – is produced by an alliance of companies that have formed The Oilsands Pathways to Net Zero, with an achievable plan to reach net zero GHG emissions by 2050. Buying oil from those producers would help you solve two of your problems at once – skyrocketing gasoline prices due to a supply imbalance and a commitment to reduce GHG emissions.
Energy security is a real issue, even for countries like Canada and the United States with access to abundant supplies of resources. As a result, it would be valuable for your Energy Secretary, Jennifer Granholm, to understand the complexity of energy supply and systems. Producers don’t simply open up a tap and the oil and gas magically appears because she asks American oil companies to increase supplies. It isn’t that simple.
Energy security and geopolitics take political fortitude for they must be played over decades, not an election cycle. They require forethought and rational, logical energy policy, or else we end up where we are now — begging undesirable producers to sell us oil to feed our ever-increasing demands.
Energy security matters. Let’s work with friends and allies, not dictators and despots.
Sincerely,
Deidra Garyk
If you would like to write a letter to the White House, you can use the contact form at https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Deidra has been working in the oil and gas industry for over 15 years. She is currently the Manager, ESG & Sustainability at Trican Well Service. Prior to that, she worked in roles of varying seniority in joint venture contracts where she was responsible for negotiating access to pipelines, compressors, plants, and batteries. As well, she was involved in drafting and interpreting contracts, and working collaboratively with stakeholders to ensure the negotiated commercial arrangements were implemented correctly.
In her spare time, Deidra is an independent energy advocate who writes articles and open letters that are published on EnergyNow.ca and are widely shared on social media. She advocates to inspire energy supporters across the country to have confidence to speak up proudly for the Canadian industry from coast to coast in an effort to have balanced, honest, fact-based conversations.
Connect with Deidra on Linkedin
Visit her website: DEIDRA GARYK: Canadian Energy Advocate
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