CALGARY, Alberta, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Crude oil from Canada is one of the best options for the United States to realize its energy security goals, Canada's foreign affairs minister said.
Washington is reviewing TransCanada's plans to build the Keystone XL pipeline to carry oil from tar sands projects in Alberta, Canada, to refineries along the Gulf of Mexico.
Critics, who've staged protests at the White House, say extracting oil sands is toxic and that type of crude is more corrosive.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Alberta crude is a better option for his southern neighbors. Americans, he said, can buy their oil from Canada or from "someone like (Libyan leader Moammar) Gadhafi," the Calgary Herald reports.
More than 70 percent of Canadian exports are sent to U.S. markets. Baird said, however, that his government had no reservations about looking for other buyers for its crude oil.
"China is now our second-largest trading partner and one of the fastest growing investors in Canada," he said. "That is certainly seen here in Alberta's energy sector."
