Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain Corp (TMC) has applied to regulators for tolls on its long-delayed 590,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) pipeline expansion to Canada's west coast, noting shipping fees would increase if project costs mount.
The Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) will nearly treble the flow of crude from Alberta's oil sands to Burnaby, British Columbia, to 890,000 bpd, but the project has struggled with regulatory hurdles, Reuters reported.
In March, TMC said the expansion would cost $30.9 billion (€20 billion), more than four times the original estimate, and that the final bill could rise further.
The tolling application is a sign TMX, due to start shipping in the first quarter of 2024, is nearing the finish line more than a decade after it was first proposed.
The pipeline will struggle to recoup the billions spent during construction, analysts said, adding that the Canadian government, which bought it in 2018 to ensure it got built and plans to sell it once complete.
Pipeline expansion to treble flow of crude
