After five years, a controversial Canada pipeline expansion project is scheduled to come to a vote this week.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reportedly will announce on June 18 whether a C$7.4 billion ($5.5 billion) expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline will proceed as planned.
The pipeline transports 300,000 barrels of crude oil daily from Edmonton, Alberta, to the port in Burnaby, B.C. The expansion, which includes 980 kilometers (609 miles) of new pipeline, would nearly triple the pipeline’s capacity to 890,000 barrels a day.
The project would also include construction of 12 new pump stations and three new berths at the Westridge Marine Terminal, and add 19 new tanks to existing storage terminals in Burnaby, Sumas and Edmonton.
Established in 1953, the pipeline initially transported 150,000 barrels per day, and featured four pump stations and a marine loading dock. In the decades since, the pipeline has been expanded and improved a number of times.
The new pipeline would carry heavier oils than the existing terminal, which carries refined products, synthetic crude oils and light crude oils.
If approved, the project would be subject to 156 conditions enforceable by the National Energy Board, a utility regulatory agency in Canada.
To learn more about the project, click here.