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Investing.com -- Alberta, Canada’s main oil-producing province, is exploring a potential financial investment in Japan’s refining sector to diversify its oil export markets beyond the United States, according to Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The Alberta government has initiated early-stage discussions with several Japanese crude oil refiners about a possible joint venture. Under consideration is funding for a coker unit that would enable Japanese refineries to process the heavy crude produced in Alberta’s oil sands, two sources said.
This potential deal would mark Alberta’s first energy infrastructure investment in a foreign country. The province is seeking to increase its oil exports following the opening of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion last year, which boosted Canada’s capacity to ship oil through its Pacific Coast.
A partnership with Japan would help secure oil flows through the Trans Mountain pipeline, Canada’s only east-west oil pipeline, and strengthen Alberta’s case for a new export pipeline that the provincial government is advocating for.
The discussions between Canada and Japan remain in very preliminary stages, with no agreements finalized yet, one source emphasized.