Trans Mountain pipeline expansion not necessary, $12.6B could be better spent: report

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Spending billions to continue with the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion doesn’t make sense and the money could be better spent elsewhere, according to an assessment.

Earth scientist David Hughes authored the report, Reassessment of Need for the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project, with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. He argues the $12.6 billion the federal government committed to the expansion project doesn’t hold up.

Hughes says the pipeline expansion won’t lead to a price premium for Canadian oil producers, as promised.

“It’s far better off to spend that $12.6 billion directly on reducing emissions, which is going to be an extremely challenging task,” he says.

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Hughes is working off pre-pandemic data, but says the drop in oil demand since the start of the COVID-19 health crisis only adds to his concern about the project’s viability.

“Certainly not too late to basically look at the facts, lay it all out, develop a viable plan, and cut your losses at this point. It’s not going to deliver what we’ve been promised.”

Hughes also says the Trans Mountain expansion isn’t needed. The expansions to existing pipelines — Enbridge’s Mainline and Line 3 — will create “more than enough pipeline export capacity” for the country’s oil producers through to 2040.

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“At the end of the analysis, it really boils down to Canada needing a viable strategy both to secure energy for the future for Canadians and to meet our emissions reduction target, and we don’t have that at this point.”

The estimated cost for the pipeline expansion rose at the beginning of the year, representing a 70 per cent increase to the original $7.4-billion projection.

Kinder Morgan sold the expansion project and existing pipeline to the federal government in 2018 for $4.5-billion.

-With files from the Canadian Press

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