For over 25 years, Chris Varcoe has shaped Canada’s energy discourse through the Calgary Herald. His reporting bridges boardroom strategies and field operations, specializing in:
Successful pitches combine technical specificity with macroeconomic vision. Recent impactful pieces include:
“REEF demonstrates the opportunities created by Canadian ports to create strategic market access”
Chris Varcoe’s journalism career spans nearly three decades, anchored in Western Canada’s resource-rich terrain. Beginning as a news reporter in Regina, he developed an early fascination with the interplay between regional economies and national policy. His 1998 move to the Calgary Herald marked a pivotal shift into energy reporting, where he covered everything from Middle Eastern oil fields to Alberta’s oilsands. This foundation informs his current work analyzing how Canada’s energy sector navigates global markets and political headwinds.
“Any economics degree would say there’s always value to optionality.”
— Chris Varcoe on market diversification in energy exports [3]
This 2025 piece dissects Alberta’s $1.35-billion Ridley Island Energy Export Facility through three lenses: engineering logistics, commodity pricing models, and geopolitical trade patterns. Varcoe demonstrates how propane exports to Asia could reduce reliance on U.S. markets while interviewing 14 stakeholders from drillers to marine engineers. His analysis of shipping cost differentials versus pipeline savings became a benchmark for energy economists.
Through exclusive interviews with TC Energy executives, this 2025 column maps Canada’s liquefied natural gas potential against global competitors. Varcoe contrasts regulatory timelines between Canadian and Qatari projects, highlighting a 22-month approval gap that could cost $7B in annual revenue. His side-by-side comparison of carbon capture infrastructure proposals influenced the Clean Resource Innovation Network’s 2026 policy paper.
In this 2024 piece, Varcoe pivots to tech infrastructure, analyzing how Alberta’s energy grid could power AI development. He details the province’s strategy to repurpose fossil fuel assets for data centers, interviewing quantum computing researchers and electrical engineers. The article’s load capacity projections became part of Amazon Web Services’ 2025 Canadian expansion proposal.
Varcoe consistently examines how public-private partnerships accelerate export projects. His analysis of the REEF project’s funding structure [3] demonstrates interest in innovative capital stacks. Pitches should highlight novel financing mechanisms for pipelines/LNG facilities with verifiable ROI projections.
With 63% of his 2025 columns addressing international trade dynamics, Varcoe seeks experts who can quantify how events like the Panama Canal drought impact Canadian energy economics. Successful pitches connect specific global events to Alberta’s balance sheets.
While avoiding HR-focused stories, Varcoe tracks how skilled labor shortages affect project timelines. His TMX expansion coverage [3] included union negotiations’ impact on construction schedules—pitch case studies with measurable productivity metrics.
Recognized for his series on carbon capture tax incentives, Varcoe’s work stood out for translating complex fiscal policies into actionable business insights. The judging panel noted his “rare ability to make Treasury Board guidelines compelling.”
His exposé on natural gas flaring violations combined satellite data analysis with on-the-ground interviews, leading to six regulatory reforms. The CAJ praised its “multidimensional approach to environmental accountability.”
Varcoe: Finding new export markets offers Canada opportunity to shift from 'price-takers to price-seekers'
Varcoe: How can Canada become an LNG powerhouse – the head of TC Energy has some ideas
The bait is on the hook' - Alberta unveils map to attract AI data centres, eyes $100B in new investment
At PressContact, we aim to help you discover the most relevant journalists for your PR efforts. If you're looking to pitch to more journalists who write on Energy, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:
