Olivia Woods
According to the federal agency in charge of building the Trans Mountain oil pipeline, the project’s cost had risen by 44% above the original estimate, now totalling $30.9 billion.
With the help of external financing, Trans Mountain Corp. (TMC) has announced that oil exports can begin in the first quarter of 2024.
The 590,000 bpd pipeline project has been afflicted by regulatory delays, environmental criticism, and large budget overruns, but it would almost triple the flow of oil from Alberta’s oilsands to Canada’s Pacific coast, providing access to Asian markets.
From $12.6 billion in 2020 and $7.4 billion in 2017, TMC raised its price estimate to $21.4 billion in February. After last year’s increase, the federal government said it would no longer provide public financing for the initiave.
TMC attributed the rise to a range of aspects such as global inflation, supply chain problems, floods in B.C., unforeseen archaeological findings, and complicated landscapes.
The company also highlighted that the current budget does not include reserves for “extraordinary risks” and is therefore subject to further revisions.
“As with all projects of this size, risks to the final costs and schedule will remain as work is completed through 2023,” said TMC in a statement.
Original source material for this article taken from here
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