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Released October 16, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Lifting restrictions on crude oil tankers to accommodate deliveries from a Canadian crude oil pipeline that's barely beyond the idea stage is "absurd," the premier of British Columbia said.
David Eby said lifting a ban on crude oil tankers off the northern provincial coast would run counter to commitments with First Nations. While the federal government mulls projects that would diversify trade arteries outside of North America, Eby said he was looking for assurances from Prime Minister Mark Carney that the ban would remain in place.
The Oil Tanker Moratorium Act was passed in 2019. It prohibits oil tankers laden with more than 12,500 metric tons of crude oil or petroleum products from stopping, loading or unloading at ports or marine installations in the moratorium area. It does not cover the entire provincial coast of British Columbia.
"So, with all due respect, we need to just forge ahead, build the country, build our economy, and keep the tanker ban in place," Eby was quoted by The Toronto Star as saying during a Tuesday press conference.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is funding a proposal for a crude oil pipeline that would complement the Trans Mountain network. An expansion project completed in May 2024 nearly tripled the capacity on the Trans Mountain system to a total of 890,000 barrels per day (BBL/d). The 36-inch, 720-mile pipeline is among the few arteries for exports outside of North America.
The pipeline terminates at the Westridge delivery point in Vancouver. The network carries mostly heavy crude oil from Alberta. Advancing trade-diversity efforts, the federal government said crude oil exports to countries other than the U.S. have more than tripled since the expansion project was completed.
Since coming online last year, the expansion of Trans Mountain has already increased total western Canadian crude oil export capacity by 13%, the government said.
Smith said that Carney should nevertheless include the newly-proposed pipeline on his list of national priorities. Without that, she said she would court U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. energy companies to expand trade options south.
Eby, however, was not convinced.
"To have the premier of one of the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest province in Confederation insisting that the country does not work, and is broken unless she gets her way and gets this tanker ban lifted, even if it costs all Canadians tens of billions of dollars in major projects that actually exist with proponents, is absurd," he said.
Smith has travelled to the U.S. to make the case for continued trade with the country. Her delegates this week attended forums in western U.S. states as well as Mexico to discuss options.
Carney, for his part, met with President Donald Trump last week, however, raising the possibility of reviving the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a project first proposed nearly 20 years ago. In general, it's been met with opposition over environmental grounds.
The U.S. doesn't make many of the tubular products necessary to build pipelines and Keystone's progress could be hampered by U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel.
Nevertheless, Canada is the top crude oil exporter to the U.S. Over the four-week period ending October 3, Canada delivered 3.7 million BBL/d to the U.S. economy, accounting for about 60% of total foreign deliveries. The next closest country, Mexico, delivered around 393,000 BBL/d over the same period.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Pipelines Project Database can view a list of detailed project reports on Keystone XL here and click here for Trans Mountain.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
David Eby said lifting a ban on crude oil tankers off the northern provincial coast would run counter to commitments with First Nations. While the federal government mulls projects that would diversify trade arteries outside of North America, Eby said he was looking for assurances from Prime Minister Mark Carney that the ban would remain in place.
The Oil Tanker Moratorium Act was passed in 2019. It prohibits oil tankers laden with more than 12,500 metric tons of crude oil or petroleum products from stopping, loading or unloading at ports or marine installations in the moratorium area. It does not cover the entire provincial coast of British Columbia.
"So, with all due respect, we need to just forge ahead, build the country, build our economy, and keep the tanker ban in place," Eby was quoted by The Toronto Star as saying during a Tuesday press conference.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is funding a proposal for a crude oil pipeline that would complement the Trans Mountain network. An expansion project completed in May 2024 nearly tripled the capacity on the Trans Mountain system to a total of 890,000 barrels per day (BBL/d). The 36-inch, 720-mile pipeline is among the few arteries for exports outside of North America.
The pipeline terminates at the Westridge delivery point in Vancouver. The network carries mostly heavy crude oil from Alberta. Advancing trade-diversity efforts, the federal government said crude oil exports to countries other than the U.S. have more than tripled since the expansion project was completed.
Since coming online last year, the expansion of Trans Mountain has already increased total western Canadian crude oil export capacity by 13%, the government said.
Smith said that Carney should nevertheless include the newly-proposed pipeline on his list of national priorities. Without that, she said she would court U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. energy companies to expand trade options south.
Eby, however, was not convinced.
"To have the premier of one of the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest province in Confederation insisting that the country does not work, and is broken unless she gets her way and gets this tanker ban lifted, even if it costs all Canadians tens of billions of dollars in major projects that actually exist with proponents, is absurd," he said.
Smith has travelled to the U.S. to make the case for continued trade with the country. Her delegates this week attended forums in western U.S. states as well as Mexico to discuss options.
Carney, for his part, met with President Donald Trump last week, however, raising the possibility of reviving the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a project first proposed nearly 20 years ago. In general, it's been met with opposition over environmental grounds.
The U.S. doesn't make many of the tubular products necessary to build pipelines and Keystone's progress could be hampered by U.S. tariffs on aluminum and steel.
Nevertheless, Canada is the top crude oil exporter to the U.S. Over the four-week period ending October 3, Canada delivered 3.7 million BBL/d to the U.S. economy, accounting for about 60% of total foreign deliveries. The next closest country, Mexico, delivered around 393,000 BBL/d over the same period.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Pipelines Project Database can view a list of detailed project reports on Keystone XL here and click here for Trans Mountain.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
