Western Indigenous Pipeline Group CEO Joe Dion speaks on a panel at Intersect 26 in Calgary on Wednesday.Todd Korol/The Globe and Mail
The head of an Indigenous-led company set up to buy the Trans Mountain Pipeline says it may have to abandon its aim to own 100 per cent of the oil conduit as Ottawa considers holding onto the asset.
Joe Dion, chief executive officer of Western Indigenous Pipeline Group, or WIPG, said at The Globe and Mail Intersect conference in Calgary that the company may still seek a smaller equity stake in the recently expanded pipeline to the Pacific coast from Alberta and vie for ownership of another pipeline that could be built alongside.
Mr. Dion said recent comments by Trans Mountain CEO Mark Maki and Elizabeth Wademan, head of Canada Development Investment Corp., that the pipeline could remain a sovereign asset appear to signal a change in intention by the federal government, the current owner. However, they said Indigenous participation is still on the table.
“We think that’s the story here. That’s the strategy here,” Mr. Dion said in an interview after speaking at the Globe event on Wednesday. “If government wants these pipelines built, they need equity by First Nations, and these expansions need to be led by Indigenous folks – and we can do that.”
WIPG, which has signed up several Alberta and B.C. First Nations as participants, and Pembina Pipeline Corp. set up a partnership to buy and own Trans Mountain after an expected round of bidding. The government has yet to announce a timetable for that after years of anticipation.
In 2024, Trans Mountain completed an expansion that nearly tripled its capacity to 890,000 barrels a day at a cost of $34-billion. The project has been successful in shrinking a long-standing discount on the price of Canadian oil.
The expansion struggled through years of construction delays and cost overruns. But Ms. Wademan said it is now proving its value and there is “absolutely a case” for Canadians to remain long-term holders.
“It’s been de-risked, so basically now it’s cash-flowing – lots of cash flow happening right now and they’re liking it,” Mr. Dion said.
He said WIPG and Pembina may still get a chance to own the next major oil pipeline to be built, which he predicts will largely follow the Trans Mountain route to a port on the B.C. coast. The federal government is eyeing that option over a proposed line to northwestern British Columbia, which faces major environmental hurdles and staunch opposition from coastal First Nations.
Enabling a new export pipeline is the centrepiece of a memorandum of understanding between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Alberta prefers the northern option.
“I think it’s too risky for a new pipeline to go over there. We already have one that’s flowing 890,000 barrels a day with no leaks,” Mr. Dion said.
With a report from The Canadian Press