Canada sidesteps KXL with Energy East

Faced with growing oil-sands production and delays to export pipelines to the US, Canada is moving ahead with a 1.1 million barrel a day (b/d) link from Alberta to the Atlantic coast

TransCanada, the country's largest pipeline operator, on 1 August said it has received firm commitments for 900,000 b/d for the proposed C$12 billion ($11.6bn), 4,000 km Energy East pipeline. The company plans to file a formal application for the link with the National Energy Board (NEB) in 2014. TransCanada is targeting first oil deliveries to new marine terminals in Quebec and New Brunswick in late 2017. The pipeline's terminus would be the country's largest refinery, the 300,000 b/d Irving refinery, in Saint John, New Brunswick. The TransCanada proposal includes the conversion of sections of existing natural gas lines to enable them to carry oil, as well as new stretches of pipeline and p