June 11, 2026 [Reuters]- Canada’s Trans Mountain pipeline is running at full capacity for the first time since the completion of ​a major expansion two years ago, but an executive ‌said Wednesday that ongoing global turmoil makes predicting future capacity rates difficult.

• The 890,000-barrel-per-day pipeline, which carries oil from the province of Alberta to British Columbia’s west ​coast, is at apportionment for the month of June.
• Apportionment is ​an industry term for when shipper demand for spot ⁠capacity on a pipeline exceeds what is available.
• The uncertainty in global ​crude markets and the disruption to the Strait of Hormuz have increased ​demand for Canadian oil from Asian markets, but have also made it difficult to predict the pipeline’s utilization rates beyond the short-term, said Jason Balasch, vice ​president of business development for Trans Mountain.
• As recently as last summer, ​the Trans Mountain system, which is owned by the Canadian government, was only ‌about ⁠84% full.
• Oil production in Canada, the world’s fourth-largest crude producer, is growing, with output in 2026 expected to exceed last year’s record of 5.3 million bpd.
• Trans Mountain is currently planning several optimization projects, including the ​addition of drag-reducing ​agents and new ⁠pumping stations, which are expected to add 300,000 bpd of capacity to the system by the end ​of 2028.
• Alberta, Canada’s main oil-producing province, has also been ​exploring ⁠the feasibility of a new 1-million-barrel-per-day to British Columbia’s northwest coast to increase exports to Asia, but no private-sector company has committed ⁠to ​such an effort yet.
• Canadian heavy crude prices ​have improved sharply since the 2024 completion of the Trans Mountain expansion, which tripled ​the pipeline’s capacity.