Energy CEO says nobody has ever asked him for ‘decarbonized oil’

Jon McKenzie, CEO of Cenovus Energy, stood at the Global Energy Show in Calgary yesterday and called the west coast pipeline unfinanceable, the Pathways carbon capture project uneconomic, the industrial carbon tax insidious and said it should be revoked, and confirmed that in all his years of selling Canadian oil he has never once heard a customer ask about the carbon intensity of a barrel. The Carney government built the entire pipeline deal on the assumption that they do. Topics covered: ► Jon McKenzie's statement at the Global Energy Show on June 9, 2026: the proposed west coast one-million-barrel-per-day pipeline to British Columbia is unfinanceable by the private sector under current conditions because the industrial carbon pricing system makes Canadian oil uncompetitive and inhibits the production growth needed to fill it ► McKenzie's Pathways assessment: the carbon capture project will cost C$20 to C$30 billion, significantly exceeding the C$16.5 billion government estimate, generates zero revenue, has no customer asking for the product it produces, and is difficult to imagine anyone believing is a good use of funds regardless of political orientation ► McKenzie's core market argument: in all his years of selling Canadian oil around the world he has never once heard a customer mention the carbon intensity of a barrel of oil, never once had a customer suggest they would pay a premium for decarbonized oil, and never once seen evidence of the market Carney describes when justifying the Pathways requirement ► McKenzie on Canada's energy policy: Canada has at times treated its energy endowment with contempt, as something to tolerate, constrict, and manage down rather than recognise as its largest economic lever, most important export, and largest driver of Canada's quality of life ► Jim's Brookfield connection: Brookfield is one of the world's largest investors in carbon capture technology, Carney's financial interests are substantially tied to Brookfield, and the Carney pipeline deal creates a government-guaranteed floor price for the carbon market of $130 per tonne compared to the $17 at which it was trading, with Jim asking who benefits from that floor and who was losing money before it was established ► Danielle Smith's position: she agreed to a deal requiring six times the industrial carbon tax in exchange for a pathway to pipeline approval, under the apparent assumption that the political environment would change and allow her to renegotiate terms later, with McKenzie's statement suggesting the deal is structurally unworkable under current conditions regardless of future political shifts ► The market indifference argument Jim and Iain have made for years and McKenzie confirmed yesterday: when Canada restricted its oil output, the world did not reduce its oil consumption, it bought from Russia and the United States, because the global market is completely indifferent to the carbon intensity arguments Canada is making to justify Pathways ► Jim's open invitation to Carney: come on The Really Big Show, explain carbon capture as if to a layperson, name one country that has said they want low-carbon oil, show one contract, because the CEO of one of Canada's largest oil companies says he has never been asked Is the Carney pipeline deal designed to build a pipeline or to create a carbon capture market that benefits the his own financial interests? Let us know what you think in the comments. The Really Big Show: the thinking Canadian's daily briefing, independent and informed. 🔴 Live every weekday at 9AM PST 📍 Independent. Unapologetic. Canadian. 👉 Support the show: https://thereallybigshow.ca Subscribe | Share | Comment — help us grow independent Canadian media. #canadiannews #canadapolitics #canada #nowmedia #thereallybigshow #jonmckenzie #cenovus #pipeline #carboncapture #pathways