Canada to preach energy market openness at G20

OTTAWA, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Canada will urge G20 countries to let markets govern investment in their energy sectors and will tout its own system as a good example to follow, a senior finance official said on Tuesday.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty will be a lead speaker in a discussion on the global resources sector at the Group of 20 meeting in Melbourne, Australia, Nov 18-19, which includes the Group of Seven industrialized nations plus emerging powers such as Russia, India and Brazil.
Ottawa is increasingly promoting itself as an emerging energy superpower on the international stage. Canada is one of the top suppliers of oil to the United States, along with Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, and about 80 percent of its crude oil production by 2020 is expected to come from northern Alberta's oil sands.
Flaherty will preach the benefits of allowing foreign investment in all aspects of the production chain, from exploration to marketing.
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The remarks will likely be aimed at countries where state-owned oil firms predominate, which hold about two-thirds of the world's reserves, the official said, without naming any country in particular. The emphasis will be on the creation of well-functioning global energy market.
In the past, Canada has stressed the importance of improving data-sharing related to oil markets and now wants to extend that to the natural gas market, the official said.
On the supply side, Flaherty will likely stress the need for an improved market environment for new investment.
The G20 members combined represent 75 percent of world energy demand.
Flaherty will be accompanied by one of Canada's biggest oil and gas companies, Petro-Canada (PCA.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), in Australia. The company's chief executive, Ron Brenneman, will be one of several energy sector executives from around the world meeting alongside the G20 summit to discuss energy security.
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