Progress in Canada’s energy sector can often move at a glacial pace, but it finally feels like change is coming. One year after Premier Danielle Smith proposed a “grand bargain” linking a West Coast oil pipeline with a carbon capture project, she now touts what she calls the “single-greatest expansion of pipelines in decades.”
Energy Accord Sparks Optimism
Speaking at the Global Energy Show in Calgary on Tuesday, Smith alongside federal Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson highlighted the benefits of a recent energy accord between Ottawa and Alberta. The memorandum of understanding, initially signed in November and supplemented with carbon pricing details last month, has spurred new pipeline and energy infrastructure projects.
“This is the single-greatest expansion of pipelines in decades,” Smith told the conference. “It’s remarkable how much expansion we’re seeing, and that wouldn’t have been possible if the emissions cap was still in place.”
Key Projects Underway
Smith pointed to several major initiatives:
- Enbridge Mainline optimization: Adding up to 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of capacity later this decade to ship oil from Western Canada to the U.S.
- Trans Mountain Corp. expansions: Two projects to increase system capacity by about 300,000 bpd.
- South Bow proposal: Using pipe from the cancelled Keystone XL project to send more oil to the U.S., potentially connecting to Bridger Pipeline’s line to Guernsey, Wyo., moving over 500,000 bpd south.
Alberta also has its own plans for a bitumen pipeline to ship one million bpd to a West Coast port, though no final route or private-sector proponents have been announced. The province plans to submit its proposal to the federal Major Projects Office by Canada Day.
Province to Submit Single Route
In an interview, Smith said the province will propose one route to the Pacific Coast for consideration, having studied options to both northern and southern B.C. “There’ll be one option submitted, because if we want the Major Projects Office to act with speed, as I think everyone does, then they’ve just got to contemplate one proposal,” she added.
The premier expressed confidence in recent steps taken on the MOU and Ottawa’s push to make Canada an energy superpower. “We’ve seen some big accommodations from the federal government,” Smith said, pointing to the removal of the oilpatch emissions cap.
While the pace of change in Canada’s energy sector has historically been slow, Smith’s remarks signal a new era of expansion and collaboration between provincial and federal governments.
