Trans Mountain expansion on track, despite comments from Alberta premier

Construction of the Trans Mountain Pipeline is pictured near Hope, B.C., Monday, Oct. 18, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

The possibility of the Trans Mountain expansion (TMX) project not being fully funded or operational by the end of the year is wrong, the company says, despite what Alberta Premier Danielle Smith suggested Tuesday.

During an open media conference from Calgary, Smith was asked about pipelines in Alberta and, if the federal government wanted to close the oil and gas industry like she claims, why would it also spend billions on projects like TMX.

Smith responded with doubt about the progress on the pipeline that's already more than 75 per cent complete.

"I've very hopeful that that gets completed," she told reporters, adding Ottawa was not in Alberta's corner on other pipelines.

"I would put that in perspective that they didn't stand up for us when the Keystone XL pipeline got cancelled, they did cancel the Northern Gateway project even though it had been approved. They put barriers in the way so that Energy East pulled the plug on their pipeline project."

While the cancellation of two out of the four examples mentioned by Smith were out of Canada's control – Northern Gateway was stopped by the Federal Court of Appeal while Keystone XL was killed by U.S. President Joe Biden – the idea that TMX won't be complete by the end of the year is also inaccurate, the company says.

"The Trans Mountain Expansion Project is more than 75 per cent complete with over 700 kilometres of pipe in the ground," Trans Mountain wrote in a statement to CTV News Wednesday.

Smith also said she knew there were cost overruns with TMX and heard Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland mention that the federal government would not put any more money into the project.

"I'm watching with interest to see how they bridge that gap to reach the finish line on that," she said.

"I'm hopeful that we're able to open it up on time."

A statement from the Alberta government says the initial cost of TMX was $12.6 billion, but those ballooned to $21.4 billion in February 2022.

According to Trans Mountain's website, the increase was attributed to a variety of factors, including enhancements, scheduling, financing and external challenges such as contractor shortfalls, COVID-19 and the impact of flooding in B.C. in 2021.

The company also spent an additional $500 million on "safety and security requirements" for TMX.

GOAL IS IN SIGHT: TRANS MOUNTAIN

Trans Mountain confirmed a portion of Smith's statement, agreeing there were "remaining costs" past the government's commitment and admitted Freeland said last February that the company was on the hook for those.

However, it says it took steps last spring to ensure "the finish line" was firmly planted.

"On April 25, 2022, Trans Mountain’s status changed to a non-agent Crown corporation to allow for borrowings from parties other than its parent, TMP Finance. On April 29, 2022, Trans Mountain accessed financing from a syndicate of lenders," it said.

According to Trans Mountain's third quarter results from last year, the company anticipates the pipeline will be mechanically complete by the third quarter of 2023 and oil will be flowing through it late in the fourth quarter.