Trans Mountain Pipeline Variance Request Denied Over Environmental Concerns

The Canada Energy Regulator said it denied a variance request for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project earlier this month because it did not adequately address concerns about pipeline integrity and environmental protection impacts.

• "These concerns outweighed the benefits for earlier completion of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMEP)," the regulator said.
• The request had been made because of rock hardness that was slowing the project down.
• Trans Mountain originally said the request denial would cause a 59-day delay, later extending that to two years.
• The expanded pipeline is meant to start shipping crude by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
• Delays in the project are weighing on Canadian crude discounts to WTI. They had been narrowing on expectations of the project nearing completion.