A possible Plan C for Alberta bitumen?
Posted May 21, 2012 7:58 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A possible Plan C for Alberta bitumen is gaining momentum and among advocates is being hailed as a potential nation building exercise.
With the Keystone XL Pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast and the Northern Gateway pipeline to the British Columbia coast both in limbo, a plan to ship bitumen east for refining and export is gaining support and interest.
The Calgary Herald reports one of the big proponents of the idea is Frank McKenna, the Deputy Chair of the TD Bank Group and former Premier of New Brunswick.
McKenna says it’s a chance to do something that would benefit the entire country, adding such a project would create jobs across the country and give workers in Quebec, Ontario and the Atlantic provinces a vested interest in the controversial oilsands.
McKenna notesk Irving Oil in Saint John, New Brunswick, is already capable of refining the bitumen.
The former Governor of the Bank of Canada, David Dodge, has also indicated the plan would make more sense in light of objections by communities and environmentalists over the Northern Gateway project to the west coast.
There is another benefit for oilsands producers. The pipeline would lower costs for companies and, by shipping through ports in Atlantic Canada, ensure producers have access to a greater number of international markets.
The Obama administration has yet to make a final decision concerning the Keystone XL Pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast, while the Northern Gateway project is running into opposition even though the environmental review/public consultation process has yet to begin.
