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Indigenous ownership will help ‘at the margins,’ as will the union work
Dennis McConaghy, former Keystone XL executive
Alberta announced a $1.5 billion investment in KXL earlier this year and is providing a $6 billion loan guarantee for construction next year. Premier Jason Kenney recently described the investment as an insurance policy against any delays on other pipeline projects, in particular the federally owned Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
Kenney said in a release that the agreement between TC Energy and Natural Law would “help ensure that Keystone XL – and projects like it – continue to be built with the protection of the environment at the forefront of every decision.”
Keystone XL will likely to be the last of three active oil export pipelines built out of Canada.
The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is over 27 per cent complete in the Vancouver region and 19 per cent complete overall, Trans Mountain Corp. said, noting that 6,730 people are working on the Alberta-to-B.C. oil conduit.
The company expects to begin construction in the Fraser Valley, which leads into the Vancouver area, in 2021 or 2022.
In the near-term, Enbridge Inc.’s Line 3 replacement project is likely to be the first new oil pipeline to be built and to ship Canadian oil to U.S. refineries. The Calgary-based midstream company expects construction to take between six and nine months and could be complete next year.
“Line 3 is a shovel-ready, $2.6-billion private investment that will bring 4,200 family-sustaining construction jobs, millions of dollars in local spending and tax revenues at a time when Northern Minnesota needs it the most,” Enbridge spokesperson Tracie Kenyon said in email.
