Quebec terminal loss could be gain for N. B.
Saint John might be only East Coast contender to receive oilsands crude
Businesses in New Brunswick are cheering the prospect their province could be the only export point for crude oil transported through the proposed Energy East pipeline amid reports that TransCanada Corp. has cancelled plans for its Cacouna marine terminal in Quebec.
“It’s all going in the right direction for us and we’re ecstatic,” David Duplisea, CEO of the Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce, said Wednesday in a telephone interview. Saint John is the end point of the $ 12 billion Energy East pipeline route from Hardisty, Alta.
Duplisea’s enthusiasm comes amid Quebec media reports that Calgary- based TransCanada has dropped plans to build a second crude oil export terminal at Cacouna on the St. Lawrence River as part of the pipeline route after critics said the facility would damage beluga whale habitat.
TransCanada would not confirm it had abandoned plans for the terminal and would not say whether it might build another terminal elsewhere in Quebec.
Company spokesperson Tim Duboyce said the company would provide an update on Cacouna this week.
Politicians in Quebec reacted to the reports with concern.
“We’ll be subject to the risks of the pipeline, but the benefits and the jobs will go to the Maritimes,” said Francois Legault, leader of the Coalition for Quebec’s Future. “I understand the need to protect the environment, but we really need to get the maximum benefits possible.”
Cacouna has become a source of controversy for Energy East since the federal Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada recommended in December that beluga whales be classified as endangered.
In the absence of another export terminal, the expanded Canaport terminal at the Port of Saint John would be the only export terminal along the 4,600- kilometre pipeline route, which would carry 1.1 million barrels of oil produced in Western Canada to refineries in Montreal, Quebec City and Saint John every day. TransCanada says crude delivered via Energy East could replace the 700,000 barrels of imported oil those refineries process on a daily basis.
The additional crude would be shipped through terminals to international markets, which Duplisea said would provide “such a boost” to businesses in his city.
He said the area was already expecting a $ 195- million bump in its gross domestic product as a result of the pipeline — even if it was one of two export points for the crude oil.
Saint John is already home to the largest petroleum- handling port in Canada.
Roughly 25 million tonnes of petroleum products — the equivalent of 179 million barrels of oil — pass through Saint John every year. Jim Quinn, the port authority’s president and CEO, wouldn’t put a number on how Energy East would add to those shipments, but he said the boost would be significant.
“From a local perspective, it’s certainly going to cause us to see an increase in economic activity,” Quinn said.
He added that the port was planning a $ 205- million upgrade to the facility’s containers partly as a result of the “spinoff” effects from the pipeline project.
TransCanada and Saint John based Irving Oil are joint- venture partners on the Canaport Energy East Terminal, which will be built as part of the pipeline project. TransCanada would not say whether it would increase the planned size of the Canaport terminal if it cancelled its plans at Cacouna. Irving Oil did not respond to a request for comment.