U.S. senator visiting Alberta oilsands amid energy security concerns

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, is in Alberta to meet with Premier Jason Kenney, Energy Minister Sonya Savage, and key oil and gas stakeholders as concerns around energy security continue.

Manchin's visit comes as American officials are reportedly calling on Canada to increase oil and gas exports to help fill a void left by the U.S. banning all Russian energy imports.

Canadian officials say domestic industries have the capacity to "incrementally increase" oil and gas exports to the U.S. by up to 300,000 barrels per day utilizing the infrastructure that is already in place.

But Premier Jason Kenney says that total won't do much to meet American demand.

"Our message to the administration is, help us help you displace a dictator's oil, not just from Russia, but from OPEC," Kenney said.

"If we saw a signal from Washington about a willingness to build another major pipeline, the energy companies would respond by investing and expanding their current production."

Manchin, a senior Democrat Senator from West Virginia, has previously called on the White House to reverse its decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline.

According to the government of Alberta, that project would be capable of transporting 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta to refineries in Texas.

Manchin's visit to Alberta comes just over a week after President Biden announced the largest-ever release of oil from the United States' oil reserves to the tune of 1 million barrels per day for six months.

The U.S. has also asked Venezuela and Iran to boost production. Building a new pipeline that connects Canada to the south is currently off the table.

Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, an advocate for the Keystone project, says the White House won't revive the pipeline because it doesn't want to upset progressive Democrats.

"The administration is going to say it is too late because the administration is going to want to save face," Cassidy said in an interview with CTV News.

"Clearly, economy, climate, national security and energy means we should be going with Canada, not with Venezuela or not with Iran," he said.

Meanwhile, the White House says building the Keystone XL pipeline will not impact gas prices.

With Files from CTV News' Richard Madan