Trans Mountain expansion runs into 'technical issues,' completion delay possible

Amanda Stephenson, The Canadian Press

The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is facing delay yet again.

The Crown corporation building the massive project, which had previously stated it expected to have the pipeline in-service near the end of the first quarter, said Monday it has once again run into construction challenges in B.C.

In a statement on its website, Trans Mountain Corp. said Monday it has encountered "technical issues" and needs additional time to determine the "safest and most prudent actions for minimizing further delay."

The company said the technical issues were discovered between Jan. 25 and Jan. 27 during construction work in the Fraser Valley between Hope and Chilliwack, B.C.

"Trans Mountain is fully focused on the completion of the pipeline and will not be providing (media) interviews at this time as it works towards the anticipated in-service date in the second quarter of 2024," the company stated.

The Trans Mountain pipeline is Canada's only oil pipeline to the West Coast and its expansion will increase the pipeline's capacity to 890,000 barrels per day from 300,000 bpd currently.  

Its construction, which is more than 98 per cent complete, has been underway for more than three years. Canadian oil producers have already begun ramping up production in expectation of the additional export capacity, which is expected to improve the prices Canadian oil companies receive.

But Trans Mountain Corp. has been racing against the clock as it deals with difficulties drilling through hard rock in B.C. 

Its initial request to use a different size of pipe for the location in question was denied by the Canada Energy Regulator due to concerns around pipeline quality and integrity. 

Trans Mountain Corp. then asked the regulator to reconsider, saying in December that the project could face a worst-case scenario of a two-year delay in completion if it was not allowed to alter its construction plans.

After an oral hearing in Calgary earlier this month, the regulator then agreed to allow a pipeline variance, as long as Trans Mountain Corp. abided by a number of conditions, including testing and documentation requirements for the pipe materials.

The Trans Mountain pipeline is owned by the federal government, which purchased it in 2018 in an effort to get the expansion project over the finish line after it was scuttled by previous owner Kinder Morgan Canada.

The project's costs have spiralled through the course of construction from an original estimate of $5.4 billion to the most recent estimate of $30.9 billion.

Trans Mountain Corp. has blamed the ballooning costs on a number of things, including evolving compliance requirements, Indigenous accommodations, stakeholder engagement and compensation requirements, extreme weather, the COVID-19 pandemic and challenging terrain.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2024.

Trans Mountain's completion will be 'hugely positive' for Canadian oil industry: analyst

Daniel Johnson , BNN Bloomberg

The Trans Mountain pipeline project is inching closer to becoming operational and a commodities analyst says Canada’s oil sector will benefit significantly once the pipeline project comes online.

The Trans Mountain is set to begin filling with crude in February, a key step toward becoming fully operational. Randy Ollenberger, managing director of oil and gas equity research at BMO Capital Markets, told BNN Bloomberg that the news is “hugely positive” for the Canadian oil sector. However, on Monday the company behind the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion said it encountered a technical issue delaying the completion date.

“This will be the first time in more than a decade we have spare pipeline capacity exiting the base. This is big, I think investors have forgotten about how big this could potentially be for the sector,” Ollenberger said in a Monday interview. 

Spare pipeline capacity will also reduce volatility for Canadian oil prices, Ollenberger added. As a result, he anticipates companies operating in the sector will receive better valuations and higher stock prices. 

Oil price impacts

In today’s commodity markets, Ollenberger said Canadian producers are competing to sell oil, which results in discounted prices. 

“We're going to be moving into a market where buyers are going to be competing to buy Canadian oil,” he said. “That price competition, we think, will result in a better price for Canadian oil relative to other benchmarks in the world.” 

Cash flow

This change in market dynamics is likely to benefit heavy oil producers in the Canadian industry, according to Ollenberger. 

“A company like MEG Energy, which is 100 per cent heavy (oil) with no downstream operations, they will see a substantive increase in their cash flow,” he said. 

With files from Bloomberg News