Trans-Mountain Oil Pipeline Expansion Plans in the Works
By B. McPherson In the high publicity forum of hearings about the proposed Northern Gateway Oil Pipelines and the Keystone Pipeline in the American Midwest, plans are quietly being made to fully twin the Trans-Mountain Oil Pipeline that runs from Edmonton Alberta to Burnaby British Columbia. The appetite for oil and natural gas is such that the Kinder Morgan Corporation wishes to increase the pipeline capacity from its current 500 000 barrels of product per day to 700 000 per day. Some of the oil is shipped to the Puget Sound area in Washington State. Other product is sent to California and to the US Gulf Coast in a network of pipes. Some product is sent overseas. The terminal of the Trans-Mountain pipeline ends at Burrard Inlet, Westridge Terminal. The pipeline has had a stellar safety record, but a small oil spill four years ago underlined the danger of the thick black goo to the environment. About 1500 barrels were released when a construction crew accidentally ru...