Canada’s Trans Mountain pipeline returned to normal operating pressure on Saturday, it said in a statement, after functioning at reduced pressure for over a month.
The Canadian government-owned oil pipeline, which ships 300,000 barrels a day of crude oil and refined products from Alberta to the Pacific Coast, was operating at a reduced capacity since Dec. 5 and was closed for 21 days prior to that after November’s record-breaking rainstorm in British Columbia.
Trans Mountain is a key oil export route and nearly two-thirds of its volumes in the first half of 2021 were light oil deliveries heading to U.S. refineries, said IHS Market Vice President Kevin Birn, citing Canada Energy Regulator data.
A phenomenon known as an atmospheric river had dumped a month’s worth of rain in two days during mid-November in the Canadian province of British Columbia, causing massive floods, landslides, and road shutdowns, prompting forced closure of the Trans Mountain pipeline.