Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Good morning, everyone. Thank you for the opportunity. I will keep my comments short, because I look forward to the questions.
I'm the president and CEO of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association. We represent the 11 major transmission pipelines who transport 97% of all of Canada's natural gas and crude oil production. We do appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today about how the government can help our industry be more competitive.
To be clear, for our industry, remaining competitive requires a regulatory system that provides certainty and stability. Investors are choosing other jurisdictions because they see uncertainty in the Canadian regulatory system, which means additional risks, costs, and delays. We were encouraged by Minister Carr's remarks when he said that the government understands our need for predictability and stability. It is the responsibility of governments to create the right conditions to ensure that Canada remains competitive. If we don't act on this responsibility, we will risk losing opportunities to get our resources to markets. We hope that this is a goal shared by everyone here today.
The pipeline industry plans for the long term. Even small changes to regulatory processes have significant repercussions. Major changes take years to adapt to, and create considerable uncertainty and risk along the way. In addition, changing requirements in the regulatory processes that are already under way have led to increased ambiguity, delays, duplication of work, and growing politicization. As you can imagine, we're understandably very nervous at this time.
CEPA supports a balanced approach to the economy and the environment. We have vigorously participated in all of the government's consultations on regulatory reform in an effort to help the government strike the right balance that will provide the certainty and stability the government says it understands is so important to our industry.
Now, much of the recent debate surrounding the need for regulatory reform is focused on new major projects. What seems to be lost, though, is the potential impact the proposed regulatory changes could have on current operations and maintenance of our existing pipeline network. That is a major concern for industry.
Canada's pipeline infrastructure is world class. Our member companies have delivered oil and gas products with a 99.99% safety record for over a decade, and we are continuously trying to improve on that record. We are a global leader in pipeline technology and innovation. We understand that the energy sector is in transition to a lower-carbon economy. We've heard the narrative about why we may not need new pipelines. However, according to “International Energy Outlook 2017”, global consumption of oil and gas will still account for 77% of energy use in 2040. Clearly there will continue to be a demand for oil and gas, and pipelines will be required.
In Canada there are enormous resource development opportunities beyond the oil sands. The Montney and Duvernay fields contain significant new resources. Last month the National Energy Board concluded that Duvernay could produce 3.4 billion barrels of marketable oil, 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and six billion barrels of natural gas liquids. These fields are an enormous future opportunity for Canada.
In conclusion, we have two points to emphasize. First, we encourage the Government of Canada to commit to regulatory reform that ensures certainty and stability for our industry. Second, in the next budget we hope that the government makes a bold statement about the importance of the natural resource sector to the Canadian economy, employment, government revenues, and business investment. No single federal document is more carefully scrutinized by economists and the investment community than the budget. All our industry needs to hear is the strong message that our resource sector matters.
Thank you. I look forward to your questions.