June 08, 2020 [Kallanish Energy] – Work has started on the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion in British Columbia, Kallanish Energy reports.

The pipeline construction started on Monday in the city of Kamloops and will take about seven months to complete, Trans Mountain Corp. said in a statement.

That Kamloops work will begin with 30 to 50 workers and grow to 600 workers by late summer or early fall.

It is the first pipeline construction in British Columbia where terminal work has been under way. Pipeline construction has started in neighboring Alberta. Initial pipeline work began last December.

The Kamloops construction is “another key milestone for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project – it is good news for workers and an important step forward on the path to building this critical piece of infrastructure,” said Ian Anderson, president and CEO of Trans Mountain Corp., the Crown company building the new pipeline.

The company is working closely with Kamloops hotels to provide safe lodging during the coronavirus pandemic. It is also working with local companies that will provide food and cleaning services.

The cost of the pipeline expansion project remains $12.6 billion with service expected by the end of 2022, the company said.

It said that 80% of the capacity of the expanded pipeline is contracted.

In 2018, the Canadian federal government purchased the existing pipeline for $4.5 billion (Canadian) from Kinder Morgan Canada with plans to expand the pipeline, a $9.3 billion (Canadian) project.

Ottawa intends to complete the 715-mile expansion and then sell the pipeline to other parties.

The pipeline expansion would run from Edmonton, Alberta, to Burnaby, British Columbia.

The new line will be built parallel to the existing line for crude and refined oil. The expansion would nearly triple capacity to 890,000 barrels of oil per day from Alberta’s oil sands.

The current oil pipeline transports about 300,000 barrels per day.

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