Trans Mountain is optimistic it can restart its 300,000-b/d pipeline, in some capacity, by the end of the week if all planning and work continues to progress and no further issues are assessed. The pipeline remains out of service following a voluntary, precautionary shutdown on Nov. 14, 2021, in anticipation of heavy rainfall and extreme weather conditions in British Columbia.
Crews are nearing completion of ground evaluations of the pipeline in the Coquihalla and Coldwater regions. Much of the work to redivert watercourses where flooding resulted in water flows on the right-of-way has been completed, Trans Mountain said, with what it describes as a critical temporary bridge also nearing completion.
Trans Mountain has set up seven staging areas in the most affected areas, including two dedicated to helicopter operations, to act as bases for equipment and resources. The company said its response includes more than 400 people, seven helicopters, and roughly 100 pieces of heavy equipment in the Coquihalla and Coldwater regions.
Trans Mountain has completed surveys of the Puget Sound portion of the pipeline system and is also working with US officials to restart a small section of the Puget Sound pipeline within Washington State to move oil in tanks at Trans Mountain’s Laurel Station to Cherry Point for processing. The amount the company expects to deliver is limited to a small volume of crude already in that portion of the line.
The pipeline remains in a static condition and there is no indication of any loss of containment. Trans Mountain has deployed spill-response equipment to its predetermined control points, including safety boom in river areas near or downstream of where it is working.
Trans Mountain is in regular contact with its shippers and is working in cooperation with British Columbia to mitigate the effects of the pipeline shutdown on the region. Of the pipeline’s 300,000-b/d capacity, 221,000 b/d is allocated to refineries in BC and Washington State, with the remaining 79,000 b/d routed to Westridge marine terminal for export.
The pipeline also paused construction of the 590,000-b/d Trans Mountain Expansion Project in the Fraser Valley, Coquihalla, and Interior regions of BC affected by the weather event. The company says work will restart when it is safe and practical for it to do so. Earlier this year it said it plans to complete construction on the 700-mile system, roughly paralleling the route of the existing line, by late 2022 (OGJ Online, July 21, 2021).
Trans Mountain is owned by the Canadian federal government.
