Latest News

Exclusive: Canada's Trans Mountain Pipeline lowers its forecasts of the amount of oil that it will ship

Documents filed by Trans Mountain Oil Pipeline's operator reveal that the company has revised its forecasts of how much oil will flow through the system in the next three-year period, due to the fact that the pipeline is being used less than anticipated.

Trans Mountain's lower forecasts filed with Canada Energy Regulator by Trans Mountain last month were not previously reported. Analysts said that the lower forecasts show oil companies' unwillingness to pay the higher tolls Trans Mountain, owned by the government, has charged customers to transport oil via the newly expanded pipeline.

The pipeline is not using 20% of its capacity, reserved for spot shipments, because the shipping costs are much higher than those on the Enbridge Mainline, North America's largest crude pipeline, which transports oil from Western Canada to Eastern Canada and U.S. Midwest markets.

These lower estimates raise doubts about the Trans Mountain Pipeline's ability generate revenue and attract private sector buyers. Ottawa has stated that it will eventually sell the pipeline.

The lower expected usage is also a sign of the difficulty in diversifying Canadian oil imports from the U.S. which purchases 90% of Canadian crude. Trans Mountain is Canada’s only east-west operating pipeline, and its only outlet for Asia and markets outside the U.S. Analysts and Trans Mountain themselves have stated that business could quickly improve if U.S. president Donald Trump slaps a tariff on Canadian oil.

In May 2024, the expanded pipeline of 890,000 barrels per day (bpd), which runs from Alberta up to Canada's Pacific Coast coast, will begin service. Trans Mountain predicted that the pipeline would be used 96% of the time in 2025, which is its first year of operation, and this was as recent as November.

The latest documents don't show the pickup the pipeline operator anticipated. Trans Mountain shipped only 18,500 barrels per day (bpd) of spot cargoes in its first eight-month period, as opposed to the forecast 30,600. Total utilization for 2024 was 77%, far below the forecasted 83%.

According to the new forecasts, pipelines will be 84% full by this year, 88% in 2026, and 92% in 2027. It is now expected that the pipeline will not reach 96% utilization before 2028.

Trans Mountain's spokesperson told an email sent to Tuesday that spot shipments are dependent on factors such as Canadian crude production, differentials in crude oil prices at global hub markets, and rates for marine freight.

Analysts pointed to massive budget overruns in construction and the fact that Trans Mountain raised its tolls for customers last spring. The total construction cost was C$34 billion. This is nearly five times the 2017 estimate.

Trans Mountain will bear approximately 70% of the cost overruns, but the remaining third - more than $9 billion - is considered to be "uncapped costs", which increases tolls according to a formula that was agreed upon by shippers and approved more than 10 years ago by the Canada Energy Regulator.

Trans Mountain estimated that contracted shippers would pay more than twice as much in 2017. Spot shippers are charged even higher toll rates.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and Cenovus Energy, two of the largest contracted shippers, have resisted. This year, a regulatory hearing will be held to determine if the toll increases are fair.

'PROBLEM with Pipelines'

Trans Mountain's main competitor, Enbridge Mainline, which transports crude oil to the U.S. Midwest, and eastern Canada offers 100% spot-capacity. The tolls on this line are about half of Trans Mountain's.

In an email sent on Tuesday, Enbridge's spokesperson stated that the demand for space along the Mainline from shippers has been greater than the supply "for the majority of months" since Trans Mountain opened.

Rory Johnston is an energy analyst who founded the Commodity Context Newsletter. He said that Trans Mountain's revised estimates show that shipping via the pipeline has become "too costly" for certain oil producers.

Johnston stated that "this is the fundamental issue with pipelines and why it is so hard to get private actors into this space any more."

Richard Masson is a former CEO of Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission and executive fellow at University of Calgary School of Public Policy.

Uncertainty remained about whether oil would be included as part of President Donald Trump’s announcements on tariffs, expected to take place Wednesday.

Masson stated that Trans Mountain volumes could change at a moment's notice if conditions in the U.S. change.

Trans Mountain has also reduced its revenue forecasts for the next three year as a result. Trans Mountain's revenue forecasts for 2025 have been reduced from an earlier estimate of $3.0 Billion to $2.7 Billion, $2.9 Billion from an estimate of $3.1Billion for 2026 and $3.0Billion for 2027. (Reporting and editing by Caroline Stauffer, David Gregorio, and Amanda Stephenson)

(source: Reuters)