Let me answer that specific question first, and then I'll comment more broadly.
It's been estimated by the economist Jack Mintz, who did a study for the University of Calgary's public policy group, that the differential between the domestic price we're currently attracting for our oil in the United States and the international price would, over the next 25 years, result in a difference of $132 billion. So that much is at stake just in the price differential, to say nothing, of course, about the additional size of the market that diversification would bring to Canada.
We're really on the edge of a historic choice, which is to diversify our markets away from our traditional trading partner or to continue with the status quo. With the massive growth seen in the Asia Pacific, and the enormous demand for energy, it's very clear to our government what we should do.
I had the opportunity to go to China twice in the last several months, the second time with the Prime Minister. There's tremendous complementarity. We want to diversify our markets. China and other Asia Pacific economies want to diversify their sources of supply. There is a tremendous interest in all our resources, not just oil but also gas, particularly in Japan, and also minerals, throughout the area.
We have an enormous opportunity there, but it's highly competitive. If we don't move fairly quickly, others will enter into long-term contracts, and we could be disadvantaged in that regard. The market in the United States is simply not large enough for all of our resources.