The Drilldown: NEB rules in favour of Trans Mountain expansion

by James Gragg Reilly (feat. Dennis McConaghy)

iPolitics
December 8, 2017

The Lead:

The National Energy Board has ruled in favour of the Trans Mountain expansion project, saying a new stage of construction can begin despite resistance from Burnaby. The Thursday announcement allows Kinder Morgan Canada to ignore Burnaby bylaws on tree cutting permits and preliminary plan approvals, the Financial Post reports. Construction can now begin at the Westridge Marine Terminal and the Burnaby Terminal.

In Canada:

The Canadian softwood lumber industry took another hit Thursday, as the U.S. International Trade Commission opted to uphold duties on Canadian imports, reports The Globe and Mail. Most Canadian producers will be subjected to a combined countervailing and anti-dumping duty amounting to 20.83 per cent, with the decision virtually ensuring duties will remain for five years, says the Financial Post. The U.S. Lumber Coalition supported the decision, saying that Canadian lumber subsidies and dumping of lumber products into U.S. markets has caused serious harm to U.S. producers and workers, reports Reuters.

A former TransCanada executive has expressed optimism about three important Canadian pipeline projects. Dennis McConaghy argued that ample federal support could solidify the Trans Mountain expansion, the Line 3 replacement and Keystone XL, as the projects continue to vault hurdles, reports The Edmonton Journal.

Internationally:

An oil union in Nigeria has threatened to strike on December 18 due to a mass firing of union employees, reports Oilprice.com. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has already executed a three-day strike in a separate matter this year at facilities owned by Chevron, Shell and Agip after layoffs were announced by ExxonMobile. The union has asked the government to put pressure on oil companies to rehire sacked employees, and Nigerian oil minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said the government will engage PENGASSAN to resolve the dispute in a timely manner.

Oil prices increased today with Brent Crude moving to US$63.03 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate rising to US$57.27.