Would triple capacity of existing pipeline

Continued from FP1

But analysts say if any of the three major export arteries currently proposed are cancelled — TransCanada’s Keystone XL, Trans Mountain, or Enbridge Inc.’s Line 3 replacement — Canada could face a severe pipeline crunch, forcing more barrels to move by rail.

The Trans Mountain expansion would nearly triple capacity of the existing pipeline, which currently carries 300,000 barrels per day of crude from Edmonton to a port in Vancouver. Industry proponents say the line would be a vital connection to international markets that would effectively allow producers to fetch a higher price for their crude.

One year after it was approved, the project is still at risk of not being built.

Kinder Morgan Canada, the Canadian division of Houston-based Kinder Morgan Inc., said in an Oct. 26 filing to the National Energy Board that the municipality of Burnaby, B.C. was intentionally holding up construction of the project by failing to issue the necessary permits.

The company said failure to issue those permits was causing construction delays at its Burnaby and Westridge Marine terminals.

The issue will be discussed in two oral hearings hosted by the NEB on Nov. 29 and Dec. 4. The provinces of B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan will all participate in the hearings. The federal attorney general declined to participate in the hearings in a Nov. 2 letter to the regulator.

Carr on Wednesday said the federal body did not traditionally participate in such hearings.

The pipeline project has technically received all of its necessary permits to move ahead.

“They do have the permission that they require,” said Sarah Kiley, a spokesperson for the NEB based in Calgary.

Some First Nations and other communities along the route of the project are opposing the development through the Federal Court of Appeal, though those disputes are unlikely to be heard before construction commences.

The B.C. government, led by its new NDP premier John Horgan, will take part in the oral hearings to oppose the development of the project. Alberta and Saskatchewan will both argue in favour of the development.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley has been vocally supportive of Trans Mountain, and will be appearing in several major Canadian cities this month to promote the purported benefits of the pipeline.