Trans Mountain pipeline plans line fill for March or May pending regulatory decision (updated)

Canada Energy Partners

03/01/2024 19:53

(Adds details on line fill schedule, regulatory request)
    By Rod Nickel
       WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Trans Mountain
Corp  TMC.UL  plans to begin line fill in March or May,
depending on the diameter of pipe the Canadian oil pipeline
uses, it said in a filing on Wednesday, as it awaits a
regulatory decision on its request for a construction change.
    Line fill is a final step before the expanded Alberta to
British Columbia pipeline begins service, providing crucial
additional access for Canadian oil to the U.S. West Coast and
Asia. 
    Trans Mountain, a Canadian-government corporation, said the
schedules assume that it faces no delays caused by challenges
drilling into hard rock, such as tool damage.
        Trans Mountain had asked the Canada Energy Regulator
(CER) to allow it to install smaller-diameter pipe in a 1.4-mile
(2.3-km) section of the oil pipeline's route after encountering
challenging drilling conditions in a mountainous area between
Hope and Chilliwack, British Columbia.
  
        The CER denied the request on Dec. 5, later saying that
the application did not adequately address concerns about
pipeline integrity and environmental protection impacts. Trans
Mountain then asked the regulator 
    to reverse
     that decision on Dec. 14, warning of a possibly
"catastrophic" two-year delay and billions of dollars in losses.
  
        The CER has not yet made a decision.
  

 (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by
Chizu Nomiyama and Mark Porter)
 ((rod.nickel@tr.com; X: @RodNickel_Rtrs;))