B.C. Premier David Eby isn’t impressed with talk of new pipelines coming from his Alberta counterpart.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has expressed confidence one or more private-sector pipeline operators will come forward with a plan to ship oilsands crude to the Port of Prince Rupert, B.C., and test the federal government’s new regime to speed along projects deemed in Canada’s national interest.
But Eby says that’s unlikely to happen any time soon because, “there is actually no project here.”
The new pipeline Smith envisions would ship one million barrels of oil per day and would be the “anchor tenant” on a corridor that houses other infrastructure.
She claims the province has been in what she calls “active conversations” with energy companies, and feels like Alberta is pretty close to having either one or a consortium come forward.
For their part, petroleum companies haven’t tipped their hand.
Eby says, for now, that’s a pipe dream, and he’s asking the federal government to concentrate on approving projects that are actually ready to go.
“[Projects] where there are proponents, where they are well-through or on the verge of being complete through environmental assessment processes, where support from the federal government will benefit not just British Columbia, Alberta, and the Yukon. And I think that’s where our attention should be: on the shovel-ready projects that are ready to go,” said Eby Thursday.
He says B.C. has almost $50 billion in proposals that are in approval processes.
source & photo: CityNews
