Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has given the CA$7.4 billion (US$5.7 billion) Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMEP) crude oil pipeline the go-ahead, with construction planned to commence later this year.
Trans Mountain is an existing 1,150 km pipeline that runs between Strathona County, Alberta and Burnaby, British Columbia.
The expansion will increase its capacity from 300,000 to 890,000 bbl/d.
The Canadian Federal Government took over the development in May 2018 after Kinder Morgan’s Board of Directors agreed to sell the pipeline and TMEP for CA$4.5 billion (US$3.5 billion).
The expansion has been delayed several times due to regulatory and environmental issues.
Trans Mountain Corporation President and CEO Ian Anderson said the approval was a vote of confidence that the pipeline would succeed.
“This is a major milestone, not only for us, but more importantly for the shippers, communities, workers, local businesses and Indigenous peoples who have been involved in the development of the project and are waiting to share in its success,” he said.
“Today is the culmination of a lengthy and thorough review that considered the thousands of hours of environmental and technical studies, scientific evidence and meaningful engagement that were part of the comprehensive assessment.”
Canadian Pipeline Association (CEPA) President and CEO Chris Bloomer welcomed the approval and said the country had made the right decision.
“This decision has been a long time coming,” he said.
“Now that we have approval for TMEP, CEPA encourages the government to move forward with construction immediately.
“TMEP must be built as soon as possible, and steps should be taken to end government ownership of the pipeline.
“With these steps, we will start to signal to the world that Canada is, in fact, open for business.”
CEPA estimates the project will generate 15,000 jobs per year during construction and produce CA$46.7 billion (US$34.9) in taxes and royalties over the next 20 years.
For more information visit the Trans Mountain website.
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