*

Adam Waterous says Canada's heavy oil expertise could be

useful

in Venezuela

*

Strathcona willing to send technical team

*

Venezuelan oil revival could affect Canadian crude exports

in

the long term

By Amanda Stephenson

CALGARY, Jan 13 (Reuters) - A Canadian tycoon who heads

one of North America's fastest-growing oil companies is

advocating for his country to lend its heavy oil ‌expertise to

the United States as it seeks to rebuild Venezuela's oil

industry.

Adam Waterous, the executive chair of Strathcona Resources ( STHRF )

, said ​Canada's decades of experience extracting oil

sands crude make it uniquely qualified to assist in ‍Venezuela,

which produces a similar heavy oil, even though some in ⁠Canada

worry Venezuela could compete ⁠with Canada's oil sector.

"We are better positioned than any country in the world, by

far, to help rebuild," Waterous ‌said in an interview. "I would

expect, but I don't ​know, that an offer of assistance would

probably be welcome."

STRATHCONA WILLING TO SEND TECHNICAL TEAM

President Donald Trump summoned U.S. oil executives last week to

the ⁠White House to discuss Venezuela. No Canadian ‍companies

attended.

Waterous - who ​attended Harvard University and has U.S.

links through former President George W. Bush's son-in-law Henry

Hager, who serves as Strathcona's managing director - said he

would quickly assemble a technical ‍team from his company to go

to Venezuela if asked.

"I'm sure there's not a heavy oil company in Canada that

would say no," he said.

Strathcona, Canada's fifth-largest oil producer, is not

looking to invest in Venezuela, Waterous said. But helping to

rebuild Venezuela's oil industry is an opportunity for Canada to

help the United States at a time when Trump's trade ​policy has

strained ‍relations between the two countries, he said.

The Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, which has shielded

much of Canada's exports from U.S. tariffs, is up for joint

review this year, ​and some investors have suggested a potential

increase in Venezuelan oil flows to the United States could

weaken Canada's leverage.

Waterous said the long-term risk of the U.S. buying

Venezuelan crude increases the need for Canada to diversify its

markets and build another pipeline to the Pacific.

Canada exports about 90% of its crude to the U.S., but market

analysts have suggested a significant increase in Venezuelan

heavy crude production would ​directly compete over time with

Canadian barrels refined on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The discount on heavy Canadian crude to U.S. oil widened by 14%

last week, while shares of Strathcona and other Canadian heavy

oil producers fell on investor ‍worries about a revival of

Venezuela's oil sector.