The Federal government of Canada has approved the construction of the C$7.4bn (US$5.5bn) Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project, that it acquired from Kinder Morgan for C$4.5bn (US$3.4bn) in 2018. The 1,150-km long pipeline expansion project would twin the existing Trans Mountain line, which transports approximately 300,000 bbl/d of crude oil and refined petroleum products from the oil sands deposits in Alberta to Vancouver (British Columbia) and to the Washington State (United States). The proposed expansion project would raise transport capacity to 890,000 bbl/d and would significantly increase crude tanker traffic off the Canadian west coast.
The project was rejected by the Canadian Federal court of appeal in September 2018 on grounds that government had failed to consider the concerns of some First Nations. However, the Canadian National Energy Board (NEB) estimated in early 2019 that its completion was in the Canadian public interest and should be approved. The project will have to comply with over 160 conditions covering a wide array of issues such as environmental protection, pipeline safety and integrity, commercial support for the project and financial responsibility. Construction could start later in 2019 and the project could be commissioned as of 2022.