Crude oil tankers docked at the Trans Mountain Westridge Marine Terminal in June, 2024. The expanded pipeline system began commercial operations over a year ago.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Trans Mountain Corp. expects to pay Ottawa $1.25-billion this year, due partly to record shipments on the federally owned oil pipeline and a refinancing deal that has reduced costs during the first year of its expanded capacity.
And as the Crown corporation works to boost the capacity of shipments on the expanded pipeline system, chief executive Mark Maki said it is focused on helping with Ottawa’s vision to make Canada an energy superpower.
May 1 marked one year since the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline system began commercial operations to pump crude from Alberta to the West Coast. An average of 757,000 barrels moved through the line each day in the first three months of this year, or around 85 per cent of capacity, hitting a high of 90 per cent in March. Adjusted earnings were $568-million in the same three-month period.
The refinancing deal came about in December, when Canada TMP Finance Ltd. provided funding to repay $17.9-billion of debt. (Canada TMP Finance Ltd. is a subsidiary of Canada Development Investment Corp. and holds the federal government’s investment in the pipeline.)
The move reduced interest costs and put in place a long-term capital framework, bringing Trans Mountain’s debt and equity structure into line with that of typical pipeline companies, Mr. Maki said in an interview Friday.
And, much like a typical pipeline company, Trans Mountain intends to return surplus cash to its owner – that is, the federal government.
Trans Mountain paid $311-million to Canada TMP during the first quarter, and will return roughly $1.25-billion over the course of the year. Mr. Maki said those payments are expected to grow significantly in 2026 and beyond.
“That’s a nice change for the owner, from having Trans Mountain be a place to send money, now it’s getting money back,” he said.
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Meanwhile, the company is piloting a project that will introduce additives to help oil move faster through the pipe and effectively expand its capacity.
Mr. Maki expects to have the project in service by the end of 2026 for a cost of $25-million to $30-million – a drop in the bucket when it comes to the $34-billion price tag of the pipeline expansion.
The other project to expand capacity will involve increasing power to the line to make pump stations more effective.
That work will take a few years to complete, Mr. Maki said. It’s likely to cost $3-billion to $4-billion, and would boost capacity on the system to 1.13 million barrels a day, from 890,000.
“We need to optimize the system that we have. That has to be a priority for us so we can get more capacity as early as 2026, and then more a little bit later in the decade,” he said.
By ensuring the system’s safe operation and optimizing capacity, “We help Canada with its vision to be an energy superpower,” Mr. Maki said.
March also marked a high in vessel traffic. In total, 74 ships were loaded at Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby, B.C., in the first three months of 2025, with roughly 90 per cent of them loaded on time. Their destinations were broadly split between the U.S. West Coast and Asia.
“Dock loading especially has been very smooth, even in the winter months. And where the oil has gone in terms of markets, it’s done exactly what it was supposed to do when it was originally envisioned. So that’s a big, big check mark,” Mr. Maki said.
“I think the narrative about Trans Mountain is much more positive than it was at startup,” he added, particularly given the line’s strategic value as a sovereign asset for Canada in the midst of a trade war with the U.S.
While the federal government’s intent has always been to sell the pipeline, Mr. Maki doesn’t see that happening until optimization projects have moved further along and legal challenges to the cost of shipping on the line are resolved.
“We’ve been very consistent – don’t be in a rush to do that,” he said.