Oil tanker ban just one obstacle to northern B.C. pipeline as MOU expected Thursday

Ottawa and Alberta are poised to announce a memorandum of understanding, affirming support for a pipeline to the B.C. coast that's being described as 'Northern Gateway 2.0.'

A new oilsands pipeline to the northern B.C. coast is a non-starter as long as oil tankers are forbidden there, but experts say a removal of the federal ban would only lift one of many obstacles deterring the private sector from such a project.

Media reports say the federal and Alberta governments are poised to announce a memorandum of understanding Thursday, affirming support for a pipeline alongside emissions-reducing measures.

The agreement reportedly includes exemptions to the tanker ban, which has been law since 2019.

Warren Mabee, director of the Queen’s University Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy, said the possible MOU would be a “policy document” of sorts that’s subject to change and non-binding, but nonetheless significant.

“The fact that … the prime minister is throwing his weight behind it and the premier is throwing her weight behind it tells us that this is a pretty serious agreement,” he said.

The Alberta government has announced plans to spearhead a proposal for an Alberta-to-B.C. pipeline that could carry up to a million barrels of oilsands crude per day for export to Asian markets.

It has committed $14 million to fund early work on preparing an application to Ottawa’s new Major Projects Office in the spring for a speedy review, with the goal of de-risking it enough to hand it off to the private sector.

It’s been described as “Northern Gateway 2.0,” referring to an Enbridge project to Kitimat, B.C., that was nixed by the federal government a decade ago after protracted legal battles and intense environmental and First Nations opposition.