The long-awaited expansion of Canada’s Trans Mountain pipeline may only deliver half the expected boost to crude oil exports because of logistical constraints at the Port of Vancouver.
After 12 years and $25 billion, the project to nearly triple the flow of oil from landlocked Alberta to Canada’s Pacific Coast to 890,000 barrels per day (bpd) began commercial operations on Wednesday, finally overcoming regulatory delays and construction setbacks.
The extra 590,000 bpd of oil will be delivered to the Westridge Marine Terminal where it can be loaded onto tankers, giving Canadian producers more access to the U.S. West Coast and Asian markets.
Government-owned Trans Mountain says it has capacity to load 34 Aframax ships a month, but ship brokers and analysts have pegged the likely number at less than 20, citing concerns about pilot and tug boat availability and loading restrictions. “Theoretically they can handle the volumes, but auxiliary or secondary services are not ready for huge volumes,” said Rohit Rathod, senior oil analyst at ship-tracking firm Vortexa.
Vessels leaving Westridge dock must pass through a busy narrow shipping channel that runs beneath two major bridges to reach the open sea, and to manage high traffic the port has restrictions including daylight-only transit for Aframax tankers and specific transit times based on tides.
