ARC ENERGY IDEAS

This special episode analyzes the United States’ intervention in Venezuela on January 3, 2026, and explores its broader implications for Canada and the Canadian oil sector.  Peter and Jackie open with a discussion of the geopolitical backdrop and the range of narratives circulating about the U.S. motivations for seizing and arresting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, including effo...

We’re closing out the year with our final podcast of 2025, looking back at the biggest stories and revisiting the predictions we made at the start of the year. How did we do?  2025 delivered volatility and plenty of surprises, along with a long list of developments with real consequences for energy, both clean energy and traditional oil and gas. We cover major policy shifts, including the election...

Canada’s first cargo of LNG set sail from Kitimat, British Columbia, on June 30, 2025. This week on the podcast, Chris Cooper, President and CEO of LNG Canada, joins us to reflect on that milestone, walk through the project’s progress, and share his view of Canada’s long-term LNG opportunity.  Jackie and Peter asked Chris a wide-ranging set of questions, including: What was going through your mind...

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Alberta and the Canadian federal government was signed on November 27, 2025. It declared a shared goal of making Canada a global energy superpower by building one or more privately financed oil pipelines, co-owned with Indigenous Peoples, to ship at least 1 million barrels per day of low-emission Alberta bitumen, prioritizing routes to Asian markets, and...

This week on the podcast, we dig into a new report on renewable growth in Canada, “ Canada’s Renewable Energy Market Outlook 2025 ”, a joint study by Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors and the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA).  To unpack the findings and the broader state of renewables in Canada, we’re joined by Leonard Kula (Vice President of Policy – Eastern Canada and Utility Affair...

This week on the podcast, Jackie and Peter break down the Canadian government’s latest release of nation-building projects. The second tranche includes a major LNG export development, Ksi Lisims LNG, along with a new electricity transmission line in Northwest B.C., three mining projects, and plans for a Northwest Critical Conservation Corridor.  They then turn to the IEA’s World Energy Outlook (WE...

This week on the podcast, Jackie and Peter share their insights on Canada’s 2025 federal budget, released last week and expected to pass on November 17. They also briefly introduce the topic of COP30, which started the day they recorded, and Bill Gates’ recent memo on climate.   They discuss several aspects of the budget, including the size of the deficit and debt, government plans to reduce day-t...

This week on the podcast, our guest is Jason Chee-Aloy, Managing Director at  Power Advisory LLC . The firm provides expert consulting services in the electricity sector across Canada and the United States.  A new report from CanREA and Dunsky forecasts a rapid build-out of new electricity generation across the country. With this growth forecast in mind, Jason shares his insights on several major...

This week on the podcast, Jackie and Peter begin with a roundup of the latest developments in Canadian energy. They start by discussing Prime Minister Carney’s remarks at the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia, where he suggested that Canada could export up to 50 million tonnes of LNG per year (about 6.5 Bcf/d) by 2030, with the potential to double that by 2040.  They then turn to the upcoming federal budge...

Oil pipeline politics are once again in high gear in Canada. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is advancing plans for a 1 MMB/d pipeline to the West Coast of British Columbia, while B.C. Premier David Eby remains firmly opposed. At the same time, during a recent trip to Washington, Mark Carney and Donald Trump reportedly discussed the potential revival of the Keystone XL pipeline, which, if completed...

Canada must raise its level of ambition to compete in today’s rapidly shifting geoeconomic and geopolitical landscape. So far on the podcast, we’ve focused on how diversifying oil and gas exports can strengthen Canada’s power and influence. This week, we turn our attention to another strategic sector — mining.  Our guest this week is Photinie Koutsavlis, Vice President of Economic Affairs and Clim...

This week, Jackie and Peter discuss Peter’s recent writing, including his article in The Hub titled “Increasing Canada’s Energy Ambition is an Economic and Geopolitical Imperative” as well as two other pieces, “Geoeconomics and State Capitalism” and “The Cost of Being a Market Hostage.”   Peter argues that Canada must raise its level of ambition to compete in today’s geoeconomic and geopolitical e...

This week on the podcast, our guest is Brian Schmidt, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tamarack Valley Energy .  Tamarack is a Canadian oil and gas company with operations in Alberta, including the Clearwater and Charlie Lake plays. Brian was also a signatory to a letter, alongside more than 90 leaders from Canadian oil and gas producers, service providers, and midstream companies, sent to P...

This week, our guest is David Nikolejsin, Strategic Advisor at McCarthy Tétrault . David previously served the B.C. government as Deputy Minister for seven years under the Natural Gas Development and Energy and Mines Ministries. He was involved with implementing a successful “one window” approach that helped LNG Canada Phase 1 advance through construction.   In recent weeks, the Canadian federal g...

This week, our guest is Eric Nuttall, Partner and Senior Portfolio Manager at Ninepoint Partners . Eric manages the Ninepoint Energy Fund (NNRG) and the Ninepoint Energy Income Fund (NRGI).   Here are some of the questions Peter and Jackie asked Eric: How would you compare investing in Canadian oil and gas producers versus U.S. companies?  Do you still believe Canada is undervalued relative to the...

After a summer break, Peter and Jackie are back with their weekly podcast. This week, they catch up on the events and news headlines from the summer, including:  Geoeconomics – recap examples where countries use economic tools to influence foreign affairs – as well as more moves towards state capitalism by the United States, where the government exercises more control over institutions and compani...

This week on the podcast, Jackie and Peter start by talking about Jackie’s recent op-ed in the Globe and Mail, titled “Yes, absolutely – Canada needs more oil and gas pipelines to our coasts,” also available on the ARC Energy Research Institute website .  Next, Peter and Jackie review the fundamentals of oil prices, the muted effect of the 12-day Iran-Israel war, and why oil prices have been creep...

The President of the United States signed the “Big, Beautiful Bill” into law on July 4th. The new legislation brings big changes to the future of U.S. clean energy development. It reduces many (though not all) of the Biden-era subsidies from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA).  This week on the podcast, our guest is Mike Carr, Executive Director at SEMA Coalition —an organization supporting...

This week, our guest is Mark Maki, Chief Executive Officer of Trans Mountain Corporation. The original Trans Mountain pipeline was built in 1953, and the Expansion Project was completed just over one year ago, nearly tripling the pipeline’s capacity to 890,000 B/d (from 300,000 B/d).   Here are some of the questions that Jackie and Peter asked Mark: How much do you expect to pay your shareholder (...

This week, our special guest is Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman of S&P Global and Chairman of S&P's CERAWeek conference. Daniel is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power” . His most recent book is “The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations” .  Please note that the interview with Daniel Yergin was recorded on June 11th, befor...

This week on the podcast, we discussed Jackie’s recent visit to St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, to attend the Energy NL conference. Energy NL is the province’s energy supply and service sector association, which annually hosts the province’s flagship conference on conventional and clean energy.  This week, Charlene Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Energy NL, joins the podcast to explore...

North American electricity demand is growing fast, driven by the increasing presence of data centers, as well as other load growth. In Alberta alone, the AESO has reported about 12 GW of requests for load grid connections from data centers.  This week, our guest is Josh Schertzer, Chief Executive Officer at Beacon AI Centers , which recently announced plans to develop up to 4.5 GW of AI data cente...

The past week saw a surge in energy-related political developments in Canada. Prime Minister Carney issued a unified Mandate Letter to his cabinet on May 21, 2025, emphasizing that Canada “must build an enormous amount of new infrastructure at speeds not seen in generations. This includes the infrastructure to diversify our trading relationships; to become an energy superpower in both clean and co...

This week, our guest is Dr. Heather Exner-Pirot, a Senior Fellow and Director of Energy, Natural Resources and Environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute in Ottawa, a Special Advisor to the Business Council of Canada, and a Research Advisor to the Indigenous Resource Network. Heather has twenty years of experience in Indigenous, Arctic and resource development and governance. She has published...

After averaging around $US 75/B over the past few years, the WTI oil price fell below $US 60/B in early May. The weakness is driven by growing concerns about a potential recession resulting from US tariffs and announcements from the OPEC+ group that they will accelerate adding supply to the market, just as demand may be softening.  To help us understand the recent volatility in oil prices, our gue...