ARC ENERGY IDEAS
Join Peter Tertzakian and Jackie Forrest from the ARC Energy Research Institute as they explore trends that influence the energy business, including financial, political, environmental, technological, social and economic forces.
ARC ENERGY IDEAS
Hormuz Risk, Pipeline Momentum, and Alberta’s New Gigawatt Data Centre
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This week’s podcast is the final episode before Peter and Jackie take a summer break. The show will return to its weekly schedule in September.
The episode begins with oil market news, as conflict with Iran flares up again and the Strait of Hormuz re-emerges as a critical chokepoint. Peter and Jackie discuss higher-than-expected global oil inventories at this point in the conflict, recent demand trends, and changes in China’s oil imports. While longer-term shifts, including substitution and the rerouting of oil around the Strait, are easier to anticipate, the short-term outlook remains highly uncertain.
Next, they recap the Calgary Stampede pipeline announcements, including the proposed West Coast oil pipeline and the earlier-stage Alberta-to-Ontario project. They also revisit frequently asked questions raised in conversations with the media and industry over the past week.
Finally, they review the news of Meta’s proposed $13 billion Alberta data centre project, along with the Greenlight Limited Partnership power project announced on July 2. They close by considering growing opposition to data centres, a topic Peter discussed at the Upper Bound conference in Edmonton this past May, where he participated on a panel exploring what the AI industry can learn from the energy sector.
Content referenced in this podcast:
- Alberta’s West Coast Oil Pipeline Submission to the Major Projects Office (July 2, 2026)
- Jackie Forrest’s Globe and Mail op-ed “The Iran war, the Saudis’ bold bet and why Canada needs a new pipeline” (May 6, 2026)
- Jackie Forrest’s Globe and Mail op-ed “Finally, Canada steps up as the energy superpower the world needs it to be” (July 1, 2026)
- Chris Varcoe in the Calgary Herald “Meta unveils massive $13B, gigawatt-scale development in Alberta, Canada's largest data centre” (July 8, 2026)
- Meta’s Sturgeon Data Centre information
- Upper Bound conference in Edmonton, recording of the conference panel on What AI can learn from the energy sector’s scars that Peter Tertzakian participated in (held May 2026)
- A report by Data Center Watch on opposition (Q1 2026 update)
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