Trans Mountain says not rerouting pipeline expansion risks delay, extra costs (updated)

Canada Energy Partners

01/09/2023 14:04

(Adds details on TMC submission In paragraph 2)
       WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Expansion of
Trans Mountain oil pipeline would be delayed by months and incur
hundreds of millions of dollars of additional cost, unless its
route is changed, the Canadian government corporation building
the pipeline said in a filing.
    Trans Mountain Corp (TMC) urged the Canada Energy Regulator
to change the approved route on a 1.3-kilometre (0.8 mile)
section just south of Kamloops, British Columbia, as
micro-tunneling construction required on the route is not
feasible technically or economically. 
    TMC feares that continuing with the micro-tunneling process
would add "significant risks, costs and in-service date delays"
for the project.
    The Trans Mountain pipeline is Canada's only pipeline system
transporting oil from Alberta to the West Coast and its
expansion will boost the pipeline's capacity to 890,000 barrels
per day (bpd) from 300,000 bpd currently.
    "Each month of delay in the in-service date results in
roughly $200 million in lost revenues and roughly $190 million
in carrying charges for Trans Mountain," TMC said in the filing
on Thursday.
    Shippers and other parties relying on the expansion project
will also incur losses from such delays.
    The reroute proposal is facing opposition from the
Stk'emlupsemc te Secwepemc Nation (SSN), an indigenous group
whose territory the pipeline crosses.


 (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Alex
Richardson and Shinjini Ganguli)
 ((rod.nickel@tr.com; Twitter: @RodNickel_Rtrs;))