B.C. Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions Adrian Dix says the province is putting forward “real projects with real investors."DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
The federal government should focus on practical projects with investors already at the table when it develops a list of nationally important infrastructure projects such as natural gas pipelines, says British Columbia’s Energy Minister.
But greenfield oil pipelines are a whole other matter, says Adrian Dix. Nor does he think adding a third line to the Trans Mountain pipeline system is feasible.
Mr. Dix spent two days in Calgary this week meeting with a variety of oil and gas companies to talk about his government’s priorities and the industry’s requests and concerns. Those discussions came in the wake of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s meeting with premiers on Monday in Saskatchewan, where he promised two-year approvals for a range of projects that could include critical minerals corridors, ports, nuclear energy projects and pipelines.
“We have to be careful to want to make progress on actual initiatives that will benefit the people of B.C. and Alberta. I think people are tired of us not doing that, and that’s why we’ve taken these issues so seriously,” Mr. Dix said in an interview in Calgary following the meetings.
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In B.C., that means focusing on the North Coast Transmission Line to build a new, 450-kilometre electricity line between Prince George and Terrace, and projects that boost the province’s natural gas sector.
Mr. Dix pointed to natural gas projects worth billions of dollars currently under construction as those worthy of being considered nationally important, along with a ream of other projects that have been proposed for B.C.
Those include LNG Canada, which is set to see first shipments from Kitimat this summer, and the Eagle Mountain-Woodfibre Gas Pipeline, a 47-kilometre expansion of an existing natural gas pipeline system that serves Squamish, the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island.
And on Thursday, the head of B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office cleared the way for further construction on the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline for transporting natural gas.
The B.C. government supports projects that will boost capacity on the Trans Mountain oil pipeline system, including ramping up power on the line and using additives that help crude move faster through the pipe. Such improvements make economic sense, Mr. Dix said.
“The increase in the throughput between 2023 and 2024 of oil from Alberta to B.C. was 367 per cent in one year. So, when you’re talking about projects that have relatively small costs that could meet Alberta’s needs, then that’s the case we make,” he said.
But he doesn’t think adding a third line to the twinned system is practical.
The head of Trans Mountain Corp. is optimistic that a new pipeline to carry landlocked crude to a Canadian coast – be it North, East or West – can be built within the next decade, particularly with Mr. Carney’s vision to make Canada an energy superpower.
And Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been pushing for more pipeline capacity from her province to the B.C. coast so Alberta oil can more easily access international markets. That includes the revival of the Northern Gateway pipeline project, which would have moved bitumen from Alberta to the northern coast of B.C.
Mr. Dix countered that no proponents or investors are lined up to build a greenfield pipeline through the north.
Trans Mountain CEO Mark Maki sees new pipelines on the horizon
“Others may be talking about oil, but there are enormous opportunities in natural gas, both to address issues around emissions, but also to make progress in the national interest,” he said.
The kinds of projects that B.C. is putting forward to the federal government are “real projects with real investors” that can be advanced if Ottawa gets on board, Mr. Dix said, and are important for national unity.
“I think the people of Alberta and the people B.C. want us to take such a serious approach at a time when there’s so much risk to our country.”