ARC ENERGY IDEAS

Pipe Dreams vs Pipe Realities: A Conversation with François Poirier, President and CEO of TC Energy

Mar 18, 2025

François Poirier, President and CEO of TC Energy, sheds light on pressing themes from the CERAWeek Conference. He discusses the challenges of building energy infrastructure in North America, including permitting and the potential revival of the Keystone XL and Energy East pipelines. Poirier also examines the strategic shift towards natural gas, driven by demand from AI data centers, and emphasizes the need for collaboration among Canada, the U.S., and Mexico to enhance energy reliability and affordability.

42:02

Episode guests

François Poirier

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Collaboration among Canada, the U.S., and Mexico is crucial for optimizing energy distribution and enhancing North American energy trade.

The growing challenges of permitting regulations highlight the need for political support and sustainable changes to expedite energy infrastructure development.

Deep dives

Collaboration in North American Energy

A significant insight is the essential role of collaboration among Canada, the U.S., and Mexico in enhancing North American energy trade. By utilizing existing infrastructures and working together, these countries can optimize energy distribution, which would ensure efficient transport of energy resources without significant regulatory hindrances. The speaker emphasizes the urgency in developing energy infrastructure to reduce dependency on foreign energy sources, particularly from Russia. This collaboration could lead to increased exports of energy to support allied nations, showing that mutual cooperation will benefit all parties involved.

Intro

5min

Navigating the Challenges of Energy Infrastructure Permitting

5min

Natural Gas: The Future of Energy Infrastructure

9min

Navigating Canada's Energy Infrastructure

16min

Navigating Canada's LNG Future

8min

This week, our guest is François Poirier, President and Chief Executive Officer of TC Energy. While he is based in Calgary, François joined us from Houston, where he attended the CERAWeek Conference. TC Energy has one of North America’s largest energy infrastructure portfolios, including natural gas pipelines and electricity generation assets in Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

Here are some of the questions Jackie and Peter asked François Poirier: What are some of the top themes at CERAWeek, including the discussion on the infrastructure panel you spoke at? Do you expect the US will build pipelines and other large energy projects faster with President Trump’s emergency orders and fast-tracking? What is your outlook for North American natural gas demand, considering the proliferation of plans to build new AI data centres? President Trump would like to revive the Keystone XL oil pipeline; what are your thoughts on that project? Is there an opportunity to move more natural gas between Western Canada and Eastern Canada over Canadian territory using the TC Mainline? Do you see the potential to revive the Energy East pipeline? What did you learn from completing the Coastal Gas Link pipeline which connects natural gas from Northeast British Columbia to Canada’s west coast at Kitimat, and how did it compare to your recent project of building a natural gas pipeline in Mexico? Could you envision TC Energy investing in another LNG feed gas pipeline in Canada, and what would need to change for you to make this investment? How urgent is it for Canada to start taking action to accelerate LNG projects, considering competition from Alaska, Mexico, and other foreign suppliers?

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