The Canada Energy Regulator on Monday approved Trans Mountain’s negotiated tolls settlement, finding the tolls just and reasonable and setting a new framework for tariffs and transportation services on the pipeline system.
The decision allows up to 90% of the pipeline’s capacity to be contracted to shippers, up from 80%, the regulator said.
* The regulator said Trans Mountain can still ensure other shippers have meaningful access to available pipeline capacity.
* The settlement resolves an 18-month dispute over tolls charged on the expanded pipeline, which began operations in 2024 after a C$34 billion ($23.98 billion) expansion.
* The expanded 890,000-barrels-per-day pipeline is Canada’s only east-west oil pipeline and gives producers direct access to China and other Asian markets.
* No commercially interested parties opposed the negotiated settlement, the regulator said.
* Trans Mountain has proposed boosting capacity by up to 300,000 bpd through optimization projects by 2028 and earlier this year, launched a bidding process for roughly 90,000 bpd of new capacity.
(Reporting by Bipasha Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Subhranshu Sahu)