Canada is, and will likely continue to be, the largest crude oil exporter to the U.S. Our good neighbor to the north will become even more important to U.S. energy security due to political and terrorist instability in the Middle East, Africa and South America.

Western Canadian crude oil production (mostly heavy crude from Alberta's oil sands) is expected to more than double from 2.2 million to over 4.5 million barrels per day in the next decade. Unfortunately, the U.S. currently does not have the refining capacity to process the heavy Canadian crudes that are projected to come on the market.

Source:  Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. Canadian Crude Oil Production and Supply Forecast 2006-2020.

Creating refining infrastructure that is convenient to the Canadian oil fields will become increasingly important, in terms of both supply and cost-efficiency. An inland refinery site will also help mitigate the Homeland Security threats to existing coastal refineries.