Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal letter concerning oil and gas has panicky tone.

Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal letter concerning oil and gas has panicky tone.HT: TorontoSun. By EzraLevant.

Saudi Arabia has noticed Canada’s booming oil and gas industry — and they don’t like what they see. You could even say they’re scared.

That’s the panicky message in a 14-page memo written to Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, an influential member of the Saudi royal family.

He desperately warns them that Saudi Arabia’s energy dominance is at risk, including from oil and gas developments in western democracies.

And he mentions Canada by name.

Al-Waleed isn’t just another pundit or oil-rich Arab sheikh. He’s an international tycoon who has built a vast empire of holdings, including large stakes in Twitter, Four Seasons hotels and other prestigious western companies.

But he’s also a prince. And when he speaks to the western media he often uses the word “we.” As in, he speaks for more than just himself, if not quite for the Saudi king.

Which is why his memo should be studied closely by Canadian diplomats, oil and gas executives, and CSIS.

Here are some excerpts, translated from the original Arabic:

“In addition to the many discoveries of oil and gas in the U.S., Canada and Australia, there are also great discoveries of shale gas, which will lead to a reduction of consumption of our oil,” Al-Waleed writes.

That’s a clear reference to Alberta’s oilsands, as well as the fracking-led natural gas boom across the west — and possibly one day soon in New Brunswick.

“But I do not see any plan of the state on this matter,” continues Al-Waleed.

“The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has a great responsibility to bring these fateful issues to a discussion, debate and internal dialogue, but to this day it has not been done.”

The prince thinks the kingdom is in denial, hoping that fracking and the oilsands — and the competition to OPEC that they represent — will just go away.Read the full story here.

échec et mat - Game Over!