“That could be a signal that the administration would welcome a concrete plan from the Canadians about how to reduce the carbon intensity of the oil sands crude,” said Diringer, executive vice president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. He said Obama’s comments, published Saturday in the Times, “Almost sounded like an invitation to the Canadians to offer concrete commitments to make their oil no more carbon-intensive than conventional crude, like he was asking the Canadians to help him find his way to yes.”

Kevin Book, a longtime policy expert at ClearView Energy Partners, also saw a message to the Canadian government and Keystone developer TransCanada — cryptic though it may seem — in the comments.

“Arguably, what came out at the Times was a clue,” Book said. “And the clue says build more green capacity, TransCanada; do something to offset your emissions profile, TransCanada. That perspective, which is one we actually hold, means he is headed toward yes, and he’s looking for defensible ways to support yes.”

Then again, Book said, “President Obama has a gift for saying things that can be interpreted by different people different ways.”