Letter from Canada: Exporters eye pipeline options

Reverse flows on the Capline pipeline and expansion of the Trans Mountain system will dramatically boost capacity

Exports of Western Canadian crude to Asia jumped at the end of last year, as flows were reversed along the Capline pipeline to send volumes to the US Gulf Coast. But the US Gulf Coast export option for Canadian crude going east could be superceded next year by a more profitable route to Asian markets. The Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) project is due to come online early next year. And that increase in direct pipeline capacity to western Canada will likely cut into the crude shipments departing from the US Gulf Coast. Exports of Canadian heavy crude oil to Asia via the US Gulf Coast surged to 266,000bl/d in December, according to consultancy Kpler, after averaging 172,000bl/d in the first 11