Canadian and U.S. government and industry representatives meet to discuss unconventional oil supply and petroleum production in North America

The Canada Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Canadian Centre for Energy Information co-hosted the fourth Cross-Border Forum on Energy Issues in conjunction with the Canadian Embassy and the Alberta Office in Washington, D.C on October 17, 2005.

The program, "Discovering the Possibilities for North American Petroleum Production," considered policy, regulatory, and market access challenges for non-traditional sources of energy in North America, with a specific focus on the development of Canada's oil sands. The program benefited from the support of Suncor Energy, Petro-Canada, and BP.

The half-day event started out at the Wilson Center with a panel of presentations on oil sands and other sources non-conventional sources of petroleum production in North America by U.S. and Canadian government officials, industry representatives, and financial market analysts, followed by a closed-door roundtable discussion. The program continued with luncheon at the Canadian Embassy, where Sen. Orrin Hatch delivered the keynote address.

The forum provided an opportunity for over 50 high-level Canadian and U.S. government officials, industry representatives, and energy experts to continue an ongoing dialogue on cross-border cooperation with a specific focus on the potential for North American petroleum production, and in particular, the role of Canada's oil sands.

Speaker remarks, power point presentations, and conference proceedings are available on the Canada Institute's website.