The Trans Mountain CEO says boosting capacity is easier than building a new line
The federal government’s $34bn expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline has nearly tripled its capacity, but questions remain about whether optimization should come before any new pipeline projects.
The line was purchased by Ottawa in 2018 for $4.5bn and now ships up to 890,000 barrels a day.
Trans Mountain CEO Mark Maki said capacity could rise to nearly 1.2m barrels through upgrades such as pumps, motors, and new power infrastructure, as reported by BNN Bloomberg.
Maki told CTV’s Vassy Kapelos that “you look at the optimization of your existing pipelines, it’s the first thing you do, because it’s the easiest thing to do.”
He added that optimization can be done in steps over time, giving space to evaluate whether another pipeline is necessary.
He also said enhancing current capacity would be in the national interest, insisting, “we’re highly utilized today. We’ll be highly utilized tomorrow. We’ll be highly utilized 20 years from now.”
Energy Minister Tim Hodgson, however, downplayed the request, saying “the optimization… I don’t think that’s a project of national interest.”
Hodgson said if a case is presented, it will be considered through the normal process.
The debate has drawn in provincial and federal leaders.
British Columbia Premier David Eby argued that Canada should maximize Trans Mountain’s use before approving new projects, pointing out the pipeline is currently running at 85 percent of capacity.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has expressed support for building a new bitumen pipeline from the province to the northern coast.
Energy and Minerals Minister Brian Jean said Alberta backs “completely filling and optimizing TMX and building a new, million-barrel-per-day, bitumen pipeline to the northwest coast.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said optimization should “absolutely” be prioritized but added it “still won’t be enough.”
He argued Canada has the ability “to pipe two or three million additional barrels of oil to overseas markets. So let’s do all of it,” while accusing Maki of “trying to shut out competition.”
The Carney government has also linked the Trans Mountain debate to its broader economic agenda.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has pledged to make Canada an “energy superpower” and recently told reporters in Berlin that opportunities extend beyond oil to critical minerals, LNG, and hydrogen.
In June, Parliament passed the Building Canada Act, giving Ottawa expanded authority to approve major projects of national interest. Carney has said he would support building a new pipeline if the consensus exists.
According to an analysis by Alberta Central chief economist Charles St-Arnaud, Trans Mountain’s expansion has already narrowed the discount at which Alberta oil is sold, resulting in an additional $2bn in federal revenue.
