ByTsvetana Paraskova– Feb 07, 2025, 6:26 AM CST
Canada’s Trans Mountain pipeline could boost its capacity by up to 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) with upgrade projects, but it is not considering a third line, Trans Mountain Corporation’s Vice President Jason Balasch has said.
The Trans Mountain pipeline, which currently has a capacity to carry 890,000 bpd of crude and products from Alberta to the Pacific Coast, explores solutions to increase capacity and flows by potentially using drag-reducing agents to ease flows and add more pumps, Balasch told Reuters on the sidelines of an oil industry conference in Houston, Texas.
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Last year, the Trans Mountain pipeline finally completed its expansion – after years of delays – and tripled the capacity of the original pipeline to 890,000 bpd from 300,000 bpd to carry crude from Alberta’s oil sands to British Columbia.
The expanded pipeline provides increased transportation capacity for Canadian producers to get their oil out of Alberta and into the Pacific Coast and then to the U.S. West Coast or Asian markets.
Increased access for Canadian oil producers to markets other than the U.S. comes just in time as President Trump’s threat of U.S. tariffs on Canada, and a levy of 10% on its energy exports to the United States, is rattling the North American oil markets.
“I think there’s a lot of Asian markets that we could access,” Balasch, who is Vice President in charge of Business Development and Commercial Services at Trans Mountain Corporation, told Reuters.
“Our system isn’t full and we’re confident we can operate it to its maximum,” the executive added.
Since the threats of U.S. tariffs on Canada began, Trans Mountain Corporation has seen an increase in inquiries from new potential shippers, Balasch told Reuters.
Trans Mountain’s utilization rates were already rising before President Trump took office, said the executive.
Balasch also expects a further increase in pipeline utilization and more tankers to load from Canada to overseas markets when the Port of Vancouver introduces upgrades in its navigation systems to allow nighttime travel of unloaded tankers, expected in Q3.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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