Hello once again Bonnyville! After a week away from the office, it's time for me to get back to work and supply you all with a compelling column that I'm hoping will inform as well as entertain, as I give my input on the impending decisions regarding TransCanada's ‘Energy East' oil pipeline project.
Prior to going home for a week, I spent a lot of time organizing interviews, gathering statistics and laying out an in depth piece on the pipeline project that is expected to be given the go ahead once TransCanada's ‘open season' comes to a close on Monday.
Now, in order to fully understand what I'll be talking about here, I do implore you to take a look at the feature piece I did on the project – it's included in this week's special Oil and Gas pullout section.
I'll attempt to simplify the points that were made in the article. First of all, the proposal will see a ‘new' pipeline run from Alberta all the way through to St. John, New Brunswick, providing much needed oil to the east that currently imports somewhere in the region of 800,000 barrels of oil a day. In short, this project could finally see Canada become self-sufficient in the oil industry.
Going back to why I said ‘new' pipeline – the project, should it be given the go ahead, will see TransCanada transform an existing pipeline that previously carried natural gas into an oil-carrying line. With over 70 per cent of the pipeline already in place, effects on the environment will be minimal. It could also see the project completed in double quick time.
The pipeline is a multi-billion dollar venture that will be funded by the private sector. That's even better news for Canadians, if you ask me, because this is something that will benefit everybody moving forward.
The amount of money eastern Canada will save on receiving oil from the west rather than importing will be astronomical. This is a project that will save millions and millions of dollars for companies and consumers in the east, as well as boosting an already booming oil industry in the west.
This will see more jobs, more money and more oil kept in Canada. That can only be a good thing, right?
