{"id":9466,"date":"2024-01-13T11:02:46","date_gmt":"2024-01-13T11:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/?p=9466"},"modified":"2024-01-13T11:02:46","modified_gmt":"2024-01-13T11:02:46","slug":"canada-regulator-wraps-up-hearing-on-trans-mountain-pipeline-variance-request","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/9466\/","title":{"rendered":"Canada regulator wraps up hearing on Trans Mountain pipeline variance request"},"content":{"rendered":"

RoydadNaft – <\/a><\/span>\u00a0The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) on Friday said it would issue a decision on a variance request from the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project \u201cin due course,\u201d following a one-day oral hearing in Calgary.<\/p>\n

Trans Mountain has asked to be allowed to install smaller-diameter pipe in a 1.4-mile (2.3-km) section of the oil pipeline\u2019s route after encountering \u201cvery challenging\u201d drilling conditions due to the hardness of the rock in a mountainous area between Hope and Chilliwack.<\/p>\n

The CER denied that request on Dec. 5, prompting Trans Mountain to then ask the regulator to reverse the decision on the grounds it could cause a \u201ccatastrophic\u201d two-year delay and billions of dollars in losses.<\/p>\n

During Friday\u2019s oral hearing, the CER asked Trans Mountain to address outstanding questions about the quality of materials it intended to use for the smaller section of pipe and how it would conduct inspections within the pipeline.<\/p>\n

Tran Mountain\u2019s lawyer Sander Duncanson urged the CER to make a decision on the variance request quickly. The long-delayed project is meant to start operating by the end of March.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery day of delay in this installation will likely delay the ultimate in-service date for the project. Every week of delay\u2026will cost Trans Mountain alone approximately C$50 million ($37.30 million),\u201d Duncanson said.<\/p>\n

The C$30.9-billion Trans Mountain expansion will nearly triple the flow of crude from Alberta to Canada\u2019s Pacific Coast but has been plagued by years of regulatory delays and massive cost over-runs.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau\u2019s Liberal government bought the pipeline in 2018 to ensure the expansion, intended to open up Asian refining markets to Canadian producers, went ahead.<\/p>\n

Concerns about further delays and the variance request being rejected have weighed on Canadian heavy crude prices in recent months.<\/p>\n

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