The expansion of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline is almost complete and the project is on track to start up on May 1 after the government-owned company finished a mountainous segment in British Columbia that had delayed operations.
Trans Mountain expects to provide service for all contracted volumes next month after completing a drilling project in the Fraser Valley, according to a statement on its website. The company had encountered technical problems on the section in January, pushing back the start of commercial operations by a month.
“There are several remaining steps, including obtaining outstanding approvals from the Canada Energy Regulator,” the company said. “With the appropriate approvals and completion of remaining construction activity, Trans Mountain will commence transporting crude oil on the expanded system.”
The Trans Mountain expansion twins the existing 1,150-kilometer (715-mile) pipeline from Edmonton, Alberta, to Burnaby, British Columbia, nearly tripling the conduit’s capacity. The project, initially slated to start in 2017, has faced years of delays and cost overruns because of construction mishaps and regulatory hurdles.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government purchased the pipeline from Kinder Morgan Inc. in 2018 to save the expansion from cancellation and help open new markets for Canadian oil via the Pacific Ocean.
The expansion’s first cargo is a 550,000-barrel shipment from Suncor Energy Inc. to China’s Sinochem Group that’s set to load in May or June.
