Canada Plans Pacific Pipeline While Keeping Northern Tanker Ban

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that a proposed pipeline to carry Alberta oil to the Pacific Coast would preserve a longstanding ban on oil tankers off northern British Columbia. The government has made expanding pipeline capacity to the Pacific a priority as it seeks to diversify Canada’s oil exports beyond the U.S. market.

Carney said Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will announce details on a possible route at a joint news conference in Calgary later Thursday.

His government is responding to long-standing complaints in Alberta that his predecessor hindered the province’s energy industry and fueled separatist sentiment. Alberta is holding a public vote in the fall on whether to hold a referendum on leaving Canada.

British Columbia and some First Nations are against a pipeline through northern British Columbia. Carney said the tanker ban will remain in place and the northern coast of British Columbia will be protected.

Carney also said he will compensate British Columbia for environmental risks if a pipeline is built in the southern part of the province. A previous memorandum of understanding between Ottawa and Alberta included an adjustment of an oil tanker ban off parts of the British Columbia coast.

British Columbia Premier David Eby said Thursday he secured a commitment to keep the northern tanker ban in place. “It ensures that the northern tanker ban remains in place, and it ensure that if a pipeline goes ahead, British Columbians are fairly compensated in the environmental risks,” Eby said.

Carney has set a goal for Canada to double its non-U.S. exports in the next decade and has said a pipeline can reduce the price discount on current oil sales to U.S. markets. Alberta holds one of the world’s largest proven oil reserves.