Long-delayed Trans Mountain pipeline to start 

filling with oil

Lucia Kassai and Devika Krishna Kumar, Bloomberg News

The much-anticipated Trans Mountain pipeline will begin filling with crude in February, marking a key step toward start-up. Canadian heavy crude prices jumped on the news. 

While the process to fill a part of the legacy line will begin in February, the bulk of the 890,000 barrel-a-day line will be filled in March and last about 2-3 weeks, Jason Balasch, senior director of business development at the Canadian government-owned company, said in Houston.  Linefill is typically the first stage of startup and includes moving the first batches of oil from shippers.

Heavy Western Canadian Select’s discount to West Texas Intermediate narrowed to the smallest since August after Balasch’s remarks. 

The start-up of the expansion, which is 98 per cent complete and will triple the pipeline’s capacity, is expected to reshape oil flows across the Americas, spur exports to Asia and likely ramp up production of Canadian oil. Traders are closely watching progress on the pipeline, which is running years behind schedule.

The first tanker to carry Trans Mountain oil is set to load in Vancouver in April, Balasch said. Shippers are expected to provide the preliminary loading dates for the new line by Friday. The final nomination process should be completed by March 15.

Since the Trans Mountain expansion was conceived more than a decade ago, its costs have quadrupled to nearly $31 billion. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government bought the pipeline in 2018 to save the expansion from cancellation amid opposition in British Columbia.

Trans Mountain avoided a possible multi-year delay earlier this month when regulators approved a last-minute application to use smaller pipe in a section of the line where construction challenges emerged. 

AIMCo 'would look at' buying Trans Mountain: 

CEO

Jordan Fleguel, BNN Bloomberg

The delayed Trans Mountain pipeline is set to begin filling with Canadian crude next month, and the CEO of one of Canada’s largest investment funds says he would consider purchasing the pipeline when the federal government decides to sell it.

“We have an active file on Trans Mountain,” Evan Siddall, CEO of the Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), told BNN Bloomberg’s Jon Erlichman in an interview airing Thursday.

“We would look at it. The government knows that, and we're keeping track of the situation.”

The federal Liberals bought the controversial pipeline in 2018 to save the expansion of the project to the Pacific coast from cancellation amid opposition in British Columbia. They’ve since said they plan to sell it once the project is complete.

Global diversification

AIMCo invests globally and manages nearly $160 billion in assets on behalf of 17 pension, endowment, insurance and government fund clients in Alberta.

Siddall said the fund currently invests about 44 per cent of its capital within Canada, which he added is “probably higher than we should be.”

In addition to diversifying its investments within Canada, Siddall said the fund is looking at expanding its reach in places like Australia, South America and China.

“China is a cheap place right now,” he said, noting that “it may be cheap for a reason,” but he still thinks there’s likely good value to be found in Chinese markets.

“We're significantly underweight in that region, but we're looking at it all the time. We're not opposed to the idea of investing in China … while it's not high growth now, contrarian investing tends to pay off.”

Housing 'a good investment'

Siddall said he believes Canada’s overall economic productivity, which has lagged behind other western nations in recent years, has been impacted by the heavy flow of capital into housing.

“We've made it too easy to invest in housing, and that's sucked investment capital out of retail investors, and out of institutions,” he said. “It does make sense to think about what that means.”

However, Siddall said AIMCo remains actively invested in multi-family housing in Canada.

“We think it's a good investment,” he said.

“It's a strong market in Canada and it will continue to be strong. It’s safe, and we have a very strong support structure around housing in Canada from a financial point of view.”

DON'T BUY TMX,  BUY THE REFINERY

Parkland temporarily shuts down Burnaby refinery after Jan. 21 smoke, odour

The Canadian Press

Parkland Corp. says it has temporarily shut down fuel processing at its Burnaby, B.C. refinery.

The Calgary-based fuel distributor and marketer says it paused processing operations at the refinery earlier this month due to extreme cold weather in B.C., then encountered an issue on Jan. 21 when trying to restart.

In an advisory to area residents posted on its website Jan. 21, Parkland said the issue occurred in one of the refinery units.

It said residents may notice elevated levels of smoke, odours and particulate matter coming from the refinery.

Parkland Corp. said Wednesday it expects the refinery to remain shut down for approximately four weeks.

The company said it has increased imports of fuel into its on-site terminal in order to ensure reliability of fuel supply in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2024.