‘The MOU gives hope that there are options’: Does the Alberta-Ottawa energy deal bring us any closer to a pipeline?
Rory Johnston, oil markets analyst, and Grant Sprague, former Alberta deputy energy minister, examine the federal-provincial memorandum of understanding on a pathway toward a West Coast bitumen pipeline. They analyze whether the agreement removes or adds barriers to construction, debate the viability of private sector financing versus public funding, and explore critical sequencing challenges between the pipeline and the Pathways carbon capture project.
Does the Alberta-Ottawa MOU truly pave the way for a West Coast pipeline, or does it introduce new hurdles?
What are the key financing challenges for a West Coast bitumen pipeline, and is private sector funding sufficient?
How does the sequencing of the pipeline and the Pathways carbon capture project impact the overall energy deal?
Comments (2)
Memorandum of Understanding? I’ll call it a Conundrum of Ununderstanding ( yes, that last is a word, if an ugly one ). A lifting of the tanker ban is a possibility? Do they mean to go through the rigmarole of approving a pipeline without the assurance it can be picked up at the coast? Private money buy-in is essential for approval of such a project? But private money won’t go near it unless they have some assurance of its approval. And which will come first: pipe or Pathways? ( even the enviros are skeptical of CCS as a viable scaled technology ). There are a dozen ‘Impossible things before breakfast’ conundrums in this *deal*. If I were drawing up a pipeline proposal that would ensure it could never happen, this would be it. But at least Smith may get past her leadership review and Carney will continue to blabbergast us.