The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) said Trans Mountain does not need certain authorizations to proceed with work on two key terminals that are part of its delayed pipeline expansion project.
The Trans Mountain pipeline terminates at the Burnaby storage terminal, and crude is loaded onto tankers at the Westridge marine terminal. Work can now proceed on both, the regulator said.
The authorizations relate to the City of Burnaby’s building, plumbing and electrical bylaws, the CER said, after the pipeline operator challenged their ‘applicability and operability’ in respect to certain work at the terminals.
On its website, the CER on Friday said Trans Mountain would still have to comply with other relevant city bylaws to allow for oversight.
This month, Canada’s government said it will halt any further public funding for the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion, after the government-owned company behind the project said costs had surged 70% to C$21.4 billion ($16.75 billion)
The company now expects to finish the expansion in the third quarter of 2023, when it will nearly triple the capacity of the pipeline running from Alberta to the Pacific Coast to 890,000 barrels per day. That would be a boost for Canada’s oil producers, which are keen to export more crude.