..i learn something new nearly everyday
This small branch of Trans Mountain could derail Canada’s pipeline purchase
The vast majority of oilsands crude moving to the West Coast passes through the little regarded Puget Sound Pipeline, which is now heavily entangled in troubled Canada-U.S. relations
Politicians and industry have long boasted of the ability for an expanded Trans Mountain pipeline to get oil to lucrative Asian markets from Burnaby’s Westridge terminal.
But experts in Washington State are increasingly concerned that the twinning of the Edmonton-to-Burnaby pipeline may in fact lead to an expansion of the Puget Sound Pipeline, a 111-kilometre “spur line” from Trans Mountain that branches southward at Abbotsford to carry oil to four large refineries in the Puget Sound region.
If Kinder Morgan shareholders vote to approve the deal, Canada will purchase the Puget Sound Pipeline as part of the $4.5 billion deal for the existing Trans Mountain line — meaning the decision to expand the spur line would eventually fall to Ottawa.
quote:
Two-thirds of oil shipped on Trans Mountain ends up in Washington State
Most of the oil transported on the existing Trans Mountain pipeline already ends up going to refineries in Washington — either by pipeline or tanker.
According to data from the National Energy Board, an average of 295,600 barrels of oil per day was transported on the Trans Mountain pipeline in March 2018, the most recent month of reporting.
About 62 per cent of the oil went to Washington State via the Puget Sound Pipeline.
Another 21 per cent went to the Westridge terminal, while the remaining 17 per cent was transported to Burnaby for distribution, refining or storage. The Burnaby refinery, recently sold to Parkland Fuel by Chevron, has long complained about lack of supply because most of the oil is designated for exports.....