The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that Alberta is exploring a financial investment in Japan's refining sector to reduce its dependence on the United States for oil exports. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that the government is in early talks with Japanese refiners to potentially finance a coker unit that would process heavy crude from Alberta's oil sands. This would be Alberta's first energy infrastructure investment abroad and aims to boost oil exports following the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, potentially supporting the case for a new export pipeline. One source says the talks about an investment are in very early stages, and nothing has been finalized. For Japan, a coker would buoy the amount of heavy crude, like Canadian oil, that can be processed in the country. Japan's refining facilities cannot process heavy, high-sulphur Canadian crude, so the country mainly imports oil from the Middle East. Increased purchases of Canadian crude that can directly reach Japan via the Pacific would reduce the country's reliance on shipments through the South China Sea, a potential chokepoint in regional tensions. With Alberta being landlocked, the bulk of its oil is sent to the U.S. via pipelines.