New pipeline capacity also appears to have eased chronically high wholesale gas prices in the Lower Mainland
Canadians will pay dearly for the newly completed expansion to the long-delayed Trans Mountain pipeline—$31 billion to be precise.While it is too early to say for certain whether the expansion will result in lower West Coast gasoline and diesel prices, a recent narrowing of the spread between wholesale prices in Edmonton and Vancouver suggests that may, in fact, be the case.
The expanded pipeline was quietly commissioned at the beginning of May. Since then, there has been a noticeable uptick in exports via oil tanker. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority reported a threefold increase in petroleum products moving through the Port of Vancouver in June, compared to the same period the year before: Nearly 1.8 million metric tonnes in June of this year, compared with 524,265 metric tonnes in June 2023.
Whereas $111 million of crude oil was exported to Hong Kong in all of 2022, and $48 million was shipped in 2023, there has so far been $662 million worth of crude exports shipped to China, India and Hong Kong this year. “As we go into winter months, Canada will set new export records, because as capacity’s been optimized and new product projections and wells are brought online, the winter tends to be the peak period. Every year, I think, for the next couple of years, Canada will set new records.”
In recent years, Vancouver has held the dubious distinction of having some of the highest gasoline prices in North America, with price spikes tending to happen in summer. Suspecting that “Big Oil” was deliberately gouging British Columbians with a complex price-fixing scheme, the former John Horgan NDP government commissioned an inquiry into Vancouver’s high gasoline prices.
Because there simply wasn’t enough room on the Trans Mountain pipeline for all of the crude and refined fuels that producers needed to ship to the West Coast, pipeline capacity had to be rationed, Fellows explains. And in 2015, the National Energy Board made regulatory changes that resulted in crude oil shippers being able to take more capacity on the pipeline, to the exclusion of refined fuels.
It was hoped that a new pipeline dedicated to crude oil would free up the Trans Mountain’s batched pipeline for more refined fuels. That has yet to be substantiated by the Canadian Energy Regulator , which won’t have data on refined fuel movements on Trans Mountain until the end of this month.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Canadian crude exports to Asia surge following TMX completionNew pipeline capacity also appears to have eased chronically high wholesale gas prices in the Lower Mainland
Read more »
Canadian oil exports from new pipeline shift to U.S. from AsiaCanadian crude exports from the recently expanded Trans Mountain pipeline are shifting to the U.S. from Asia, showing how the major project’s effect on global oil markets remains in flux.
Read more »
Business leaders urge feds to step in to halt railway job actionPhased rail shutdown of Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Kansas City already underway
Read more »
TMX Group buys news release distribution service NewsfileTORONTO — TMX Group Ltd. says it has acquired news release distribution service Newsfile Corp.
Read more »
Gas prices fall in B.C.; TMX pipeline to lower fuel costsBottlenecks on Trans Mountain prior to the expansion have cost B.C. residents $1.5 billion per year since 2015, a new report says.
Read more »
New fitness club to open at old Canadian Tire Store in Ottawa's west endAtlea Active has announced the 129,000 square-foot 'wellness and social club' will open on Carling Avenue in late 2024
Read more »