Canada Explores Northern B.C. Oil Pipeline Routes Amid Energy Export Push

Alberta is exploring three routes for a new oil pipeline to transport 1 million barrels per day through northern British Columbia, as Canada seeks to increase energy exports to Asia.

The provincial government and Prime Minister Mark Carney's administration are also nearing an agreement on industrial carbon pricing, with a deal expected within two weeks, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

A new pipeline is crucial to Carney's goal of making Canada an energy superpower, which would reduce its reliance on the US after former President Donald Trump imposed tariffs that upended their free-trade pact. Currently, about 90% of Canada's oil exports still go to the US, despite increased shipments to Asia following the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.

However, there are significant political and technical obstacles within Canada to a northwest oil pipeline, including opposition from the BC government, environmentalists, and some Indigenous groups in the region. The idea would also require Carney's administration to lift a ban on oil tankers.