The Alberta government is preparing to lead an application for a new oil pipeline to the British Columbia coast with support from Enbridge, South Bow and Trans Mountain, the Globe and Mail reported on Wednesday, citing three sources familiar with the matter.
The plan is to draft an application along with an early estimate to submit to the federal government’s new Major Projects Office, the report said, adding that a final route has not yet been decided.
Enbridge, South Bow and Trans Mountain will work with the government and the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute to draft models of a potential route, the report said, citing a person familiar with the plans.
Alberta faces only a small financial risk in filing the application, far less than the $1.3 billion it invested in the ill-fated Keystone XL project which was scrapped in 2021, the report said, noting that the aim is not for the province to own a pipeline but to map out a plan and route before handing it over to private capital. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s office, Enbridge, South Bow and Trans Mountain did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
A new oil pipeline to the British Columbia coast is highly likely to be included on a list of projects deemed to be of national importance to the Canadian government, Prime Minister Mark Carney told the Calgary Herald newspaper in July.
(Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Marguerita Choy)