Canada and Alberta are not far apart on the terms of a bargain that would create the conditions for a new oil export pipeline to be built in the province in exchange for certain environmental commitments, Premier Danielle Smith told Reuters on Thursday.
Smith on Wednesday announced plans for Canada’s main oil-producing province to take the lead on early planning for a pipeline.
“We’re about 80% in agreement on most of the aspects,” Smith said in an interview.
“The fact of the matter is, the ball is now in (Canadian Prime Minister) Mark Carney’s court.”
The federal government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Smith said her government has no intention of building the pipeline from Alberta’s oil sands to the Northwest coast of British Columbia itself. Canadian pipeline companies Enbridge, South Bow and government-owned Trans Mountain have agreed to provide advice and technical support to Alberta as it develops its proposal, according to Smith.
Smith said if Alberta’s pipeline proposal does get the greenlight from Canada’s government, she is confident a private sector company will come forward to build the project.
In a speech to a business crowd in Toronto on Thursday, Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel said Canada will have to drop its ban on oil tankers off the northwest B.C. coast before any pipeline company commits to what Alberta is proposing.
“No company would build a pipeline to nowhere,” Ebel said.
B.C. Premier David Eby said on Wednesday his province has supported the tanker ban from its inception and remains adamant that the legislation stay in place.
South Bow and Trans Mountain have not commented on the proposal.
Reuters reported in September that Carney’s government is in talks with Alberta and the energy sector about eliminating a federal emissions cap on Canada’s oil and gas sector in exchange for the industry and province reducing their carbon footprint in other ways. The federal government has also been clear that any pipeline proposal by Alberta must be contingent on the proposed Pathways carbon capture and storage project moving ahead in order to be considered for fast-tracking.
Smith declined to say what other commitments the federal government may be asking Alberta to make.
Alberta’s government said the proposed pipeline could carry up to 1 million barrels per day. Canada achieved record oil production in 2024 as the completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion boosted oil companies’ ability to get their product to market. Many analysts have suggested Trans Mountain will be full between 2027 and 2028 as Canada tries to diversify oil exports and rely less on the U.S. market.
(Reporting by Amanda Stephenson in Calgary Editing by Marguerita Choy)