OTTAWA — Canada is preparing to increase its oil output by about 140,000 barrels per day starting in April, as part of an international effort to stabilise global energy supplies affected by the ongoing conflict involving Iran.
Officials from the office of Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson say the move aligns with a broader plan led by the International Energy Agency to boost oil availability in global markets. The plan calls for oil-producing countries to collectively release around 400 million barrels to help offset supply disruptions.
Canada has pledged to contribute 23.6 million barrels as part of that effort. However, government officials say the additional supply will not come from emergency production measures. Instead, it will result from planned production increases in Alberta’s oil sands, which were already scheduled to come online.
According to the Canada Energy Regulator, Canada produced an average of 5.3 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2025. The upcoming boost represents roughly a 2.6-per-cent increase in the country’s overall oil supply.
Canada remains the only G7 country without strategic emergency oil reserves, but under international rules, it is not required to maintain them because the country is a major net exporter of oil.
Global energy markets have been volatile since the United States and Israel launched military strikes on Iran on February 28. At one point, crude oil prices surged above US$120 per barrel, levels not seen since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine several years ago.
The conflict has also raised concerns about the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route that typically carries around 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply each day. Recent attacks on commercial vessels and reports of underwater mines in the area have disrupted traffic through the vital waterway, adding further pressure to global oil markets.
(Source: Global News)
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