Will offer 'attractively priced' energy to India: Canada minister Hodgson

India and Canada are looking at boosting energy trade focused on oil, LNG and LPG

Canada would offer “attractively priced” energy to India as it looks at expanding energy trade beyond the US, Timothy Hodgson, Canadian minister of energy and natural resources, told Business Standard in an interview on Wednesday. 

India held a bilateral meeting with Canada on Tuesday to support energy trade with a focus on boosting crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports from the country, while exporting refined petroleum products, apart from critical minerals and small modular reactors (SMRs) used in nuclear energy. 

“I am sure India will find it (energy) attractively priced, and our job is to introduce Indian companies to Canadian developers, because they are looking for new partners. We hope India wants to buy it too,” Hodgson said on the sidelines of the India Energy Week (IEW) event here. 

Canada supplies energy mostly to the US but it is looking at forging new partnerships with countries, including India, for energy trade. The country aims to double trade with India, which currently stands at around $30 billion, by the end of the decade, Hodgson added. 

“Our Prime Minister (PM) said middle powers will reorganise their affairs to reduce leverage and the way we do that is we trade more with other countries. We have a clear goal to double our non-US exports. We have historically exported most of our products to (the US) because it's right next door. Our PM says we need to trade with all our allies, not just the allies we share a border with,” he said. 

The minister also emphasised the appeal of Canadian crude oil for Indian refiners over Venezuelan crude, arguing that Ottawa offers “stable democracy”. As India looks to diversify sources for securing energy supply, the country is looking at new geographies, including Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana, among others. 

“Canada has the fourth-largest reserves of oil and natural gas in the world. We have one of the largest reserves of uranium. Today, we do less than 1 per cent of our business with India when the latter is about to become the third-largest economy in the world. That does not make sense for Canada,” said Hodgson. 

He also added that Canada is working to export energy to India through the West Coast, which would reduce freight time by around 10 days. 

India, Canada trade deal to be anchored in energy and critical minerals

  Energy and critical minerals will be the cornerstone of new trade ties between India and Canada, a top Canadian minister said, as the two countries rekindle their relationship after a prolonged diplomatic rift.

India’s expected growth in energy demand is a “great opportunity” for the North American nation, which holds large supplies of oil, gas, and critical minerals, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson told Bloomberg Television at the India Energy Week in Goa on Wednesday. “We produce 6 per cent of the world’s oil today and India gets less than 1 per cent of its oil from Canada,” he said. Increasing that share to a more reasonable level would make both countries stronger, more resilient and secure, he added.   (Bloomberg)