Trans Mountain pipeline expansion gets start date

The Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion will go into commercial service on May 1.

The Crown corporation behind the project, which will increase the existing pipeline’s capacity by 590,000 barrels per day to a total of 890,000 barrels per day, provided the start date in an update Wednesday.

Trans Mountain Corp. says it has successfully resolved the construction-related challenges in B.C.’s Fraser Valley that slowed the project’s progress in recent months.

There are still several steps that must be completed before the pipeline can begin shipping oil, including the final construction components as well as obtaining all outstanding regulatory approvals.

The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project is owned by the federal government. It has taken more than four years and at least $34 billion in costs to build.

The expanded pipeline, which runs from Alberta to the B.C. West Coast, will significantly improve Canadian oil companies’ access to export markets.