Alberta is set to propose a 'general corridor' for a planned new million-barrel-a-day oil pipeline to the northern British Columbia coast rather than a specific route, the provincial minister of Indigenous relations said.
Pipeline corridor proposal
The province is considering a general path to the northwest B.C. coast near Prince Rupert for the new pipeline, with the specific route to be determined later through consultations with Indigenous communities, Minister Rajan Sawhney said in an interview at the Global Energy Show in Calgary. The proposal will be with the federal government's Major Projects Office by July 1.
'There is not going to be any particular route that is going to be articulated because you can't really do that without Indigenous voices at the table,' she said. 'As of yet, there is no community that has come forward and said, 'Yes, come to our community.''
Political context
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has made the construction of a new pipeline to B.C. a central goal of her government as part of a plan to eventually double oil production and increase exports to Asia. Her preferred northern route for the project faces stiff opposition from some First Nations along the coast as well as B.C. Premier David Eby.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has pledged to back the new pipeline in exchange for a series of measures including a higher industrial carbon tax and the deployment of a long-planned carbon capture project in the oil sands, called Pathways, to reduce emissions.
Industry reaction
On Tuesday, Cenovus Energy Inc. chief executive Jon McKenzie said in a speech that the government's condition of building a massive carbon-capture project and implementing an industrial carbon tax in exchange for an oil-sands pipeline was anticompetitive and uneconomic.
The proposal marks a significant step in Alberta's efforts to secure new export capacity for its growing oil production, but the lack of a specific route and ongoing opposition from Indigenous groups and the B.C. government suggest the project faces a long and uncertain path forward.
