Trade war turmoil could leave energy unscathed, Husky CEO says

CALGARY (Bloomberg) -- The energy industry is one of the safest sectors to be in as U.S. President Donald Trump instigates a global trade war, Husky Energy Inc. CEO Rob Peabody said.

Husky has ties to many of the major players in the emerging trade battles. The Calgary-based company controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing has a major production center in Canada’s oil sands, refineries in the U.S., and gas fields offshore China. Peabody said trade wars have proven to be unproductive and likely will hurt everyone involved, but the energy industry may be relatively well-shielded from the worst of the fallout.

“Energy has been one of the most traded commodities, long before Nafta, long before many of the other trade agreements, even before the WTO,” Peabody said in an interview on the sidelines of a conference in Calgary. “I don’t think there’s any real dark clouds on the horizon around the energy picture.”