TransCanada Corporation has filed a formal application to build a new pipeline that would carry 1.1 million barrels of oil per day from Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries in Eastern Canada.
The Energy East Pipeline project involves the construction of approximately 1,600 kilometers (990 miles) of new pipeline, together with the conversion of approximately 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) of TransCanada's existing Canadian Mainline system from natural gas to crude oil.
The Canadian energy infrastructure company said on Thursday that it has spent more than 18 months conducting environmental studies, engineering work and public consultation.
If the project goes ahead, the pipeline would connect eastern Canadian markets with the significant energy resources in Western Canada.
As well as providing safe and efficient access to markets for Canada's growing crude oil production, Energy East would eliminate the need for Eastern Canada to import most of the 700,000 barrels it consumes every day, according to Russ Girling, TransCanada's president and CEO. It would end refineries' reliance on more expensive crude oil imported from outside Canada, TransCanada said.
Under the plans filed this week with the National Energy Board of Canada, the multi-billion dollar pipeline will transport crude oil from receipt points in Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries in Montreal and Levis, Quebec and to a proposed new marine terminal in Cacouna, Quebec. The pipeline will terminate in Saint John, New Brunswick, at the Irving oil refining complex.
