Canada Ties New West Coast Pipeline to Oil Sands Expansion
The Canadian government and oil sands producers have reached a deal to advance a new West Coast pipeline capable of transporting 1 million barrels of oil per day. The project is contingent on producers committing to carbon capture and storage initiatives to reduce operational emissions.
Why it matters
This deal balances economic expansion in the energy sector with federal climate goals, sparking debate over the environmental impact of oil sands production.
Canada's biggest oil sands producers, the Alberta provincial government, and the federal government have reached a new milestone in advancing the planned new West Coast pipeline that would move another 1 million barrels per day bpd of oil sands output from the top oil province to the British Columbia coast. The parties on Monday unveiled the backgrounder document of the deal for the new pipeline, West Coast Oil Pipeline WCOP. In this, "Alberta has agreed to implement financial supports to enable the oil production growth needed to underpin new export capacity, including the pipeline to Asian markets and the Trans Mountain Expansion TMX optimization." The new pipeline hinges on the five top oil sands producers, Canadian Natural, Cenovus, ConocoPhillips Canada, Imperial Oil, and Suncor, committing to the Pathways carbon capture and storage CCS project and to reduce their operational emissions.
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