The CEO of the pipeline operator belonging to the crown Trans Mountain Corp. Said that he could take other expansion pipeline projects if necessary, but that it would be preferable for the private sector to take the lead.
Trade tumult in recent months with the United States – Canada’s largest client for its crude oil – has intensified calls for Canada to build infrastructure that would allow its resources to move to other global buyers.
When the Enlarge Mountain PiPELINE began to send Alberta Brude to BC Lower Mainland just over a year ago, producers of bituminous sands were finally able to access the lucrative Asian markets.
The CEO of Trans Mountain, Mark Maki, said on Friday in an interview that there was an appetite for more exit from the pipeline on the Pacific coast and elsewhere.
“The United States is an excellent customer. It will always be an excellent customer, but market diversification for the country is important,” he said.
He said that the owner of Trans Mountain – The Government of Canada – would prefer the passage of the private sector.
“If this cannot happen, and it is in the national interest, Trans Mountain is there,” said Maki.
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Its remarks occurred after Trans Mountain announced its operational and financial results during the first three months of 2025.
Since oil began to go through the expansion in May of last year, 266 raw ships have been loaded and third -party information suggest that the destinations have been divided between the American West Coast and Asia.
The enlarged pipeline has sent an average of around 757,000 barrels per day during the quarter – below its capacity of 890,000 barrels per day.
Maki said that if the pipeline was running, the western raw canadian raw would see a higher price against light crude light, easier to refine on the world market. This would eat in the margins of Alberta producers.
“You really don’t want us 100% 100% … What is important is to keep a little soft in the system,” he said.
To date, gross supply has not caught up with the ability to take away.
“But when this happens, the raw differential is blowing. And therefore having a little room for maneuver is important.”
Trans Mountain said that there are economic means of strengthening the capacity of the pipeline if necessary, such as adding chemical agents to reduce friction, which would allow more crude to flow through the line. Other options may include adding power segments or pumping pipes. These projects could together add up to 300,000 barrels per day of capacity.
Trans Mountain said quarterly net profit was $ 148 million against $ 158 million a year earlier.
His profits before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization – a measure which, according to him, reflects the performance of his underlying activity – amounted to $ 568 million, compared to the $ 36 million he brought back a year earlier, before the expansion of the pipeline started.
During the quarter, $ 311 million was paid to his parent Canada TMP Finance Ltd., which himself belongs to The Canada Development Investment Corp. which included $ 148 million in interest payments and $ 163 million in cash dividends.
The original trans mountain pipeline has been operating since the 1950s.
In 2013, the American energy company Kinder Morgan filed a proposal to extend it at a cost of $ 5.4 billion, addressing a controversial regulatory review process marked by demonstrations and legal challenges.
Kinder Morgan suspended the work in 2018 and sold shortly after the pipeline in the federal government for $ 4.5 billion.
As the expansion project was completed, its cost had reached $ 34 billion.
Maki said he was not in a hurry to bring Trans Mountain back in private hands.
He said that the enlarged pipeline should obtain a little more operating history to his credit so that a potential buyer can assign him the appropriate value. A toll dispute that customers pay to use the line, currently before Canada’s energy regulator, must also be settled, he said.
There is also an interest in the potential possession of indigenous actions in the line – when the time has come.
Trans Mountain is in a “transitional” year where it begins to pay dividends and pursues part of the cleaning work of the construction of the pipeline.
Next year will be “much more normal,” said Maki.
“And therefore most likely at that time would have sense to start thinking about it.”
& Copy 2025 the Canadian press