Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is negotiating with the federal government and Prime Minister Mark Carney on the newly proposed oil pipeline from the oil-producing province to the West Coast.
Smith and Carney met in Ottawa on Monday as the Alberta Premier was arriving in the capital for meetings while the federal PM was departing for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington D.C.
Smith and Carney discussed energy opportunities and Carney said that Alberta and the federal government have a lot to talk about how they could cooperate to make Canada an energy superpower, which is one of the prime minister’s key pledges. There are exciting opportunities to discuss further, Carney said, without giving details.
Last week, Alberta proposed a new oil pipeline to the British Columbia coast that could carry up to 1 million barrels daily of crude oil, to be exported to Asian markets.
Using the technical advice of major pipeline companies and with Indigenous participation, the province will begin engagement with Alberta and BC Indigenous communities, develop a proposal, and submit a formal application for a project of national significance to the Federal Major Projects Office, the province of Alberta said.
The federal government has recently launched the Major Projects Office, which will help accelerate the development of the strategic projects.
In early September, Carney announced the Office’s first list of five major projects of national importance, and these included Phase 2 of the first Canadian LNG export project, LNG Canada, which started up only a few months ago.
Alberta is now aiming to submit the new pipeline project to the Major Projects Office. The province plans to engage in pre-front-end engineering and design work to determine the general path and size of the pipeline, quantify costs, initiate early Indigenous engagement and partnership, and make a clear case that this pipeline is in the national interest.
Alberta’s government will contribute US$10 million (C$14 million) to support early planning work, including cost estimates, engagement and development of a credible proposal for federal consideration.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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