Alberta Oil Producers Back West Coast Pipeline Amid National Interest Bid

Alberta's Energy and Minerals Minister Brian Jean announced that a group representing oil and gas producers, which account for over 40% of Canada's oil production, supports a proposed west coast pipeline. The Explorers and Producers Association of Canada sent a letter to the federal government outlining its support and anticipated commitments from its members.

The pipeline, which would carry up to one million barrels of crude oil per day along a 1,250-kilometre route from Bruderheim, Alta., to a deepwater port south of Vancouver, is expected to create jobs in the industry. The province has submitted the proposal to the federal Major Projects Office and published a notice in the Canada Gazette, beginning the process of potentially listing the pipeline as a project of national interest.

The Alberta government aims to double provincial oil production to eight million barrels per day by 2035. Minister Jean stated that every barrel transported through the pipeline would support jobs on rigs, in fields, and in communities dependent on the industry.