Enbridge expects the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) crude pipeline project will curtail volumes flowing on its own 3mn b/d Mainline export system by 5-10pc when it starts up later this year.
When completed TMX will add 590,000 b/d of capacity to an existing 300,000 b/d line from Edmonton, Alberta, to Burnaby, British Columbia. Both lines, owned by the federal government, will significantly increase Canadian crude movements to Pacific markets.
"All the pipes and rail should probably lose some volume initially," Enbridge president of liquids pipelines Colin Gruending said today in an interview at the Argus Americas Crude Summit in Houston, Texas.
But refiners that have been retooled to process Canadian crude will continue to seek it out.
"We see a pretty large pull from inland markets," Gruending said, and "[refiners] will compete for those barrels relative to their alternatives that are from the south."
Enbridge's Mainline is the largest crude export system from Canada to the US.
Gruending is one of many speakers at the Argus Americas Crude Summit, running from today through Friday at the Marriott Marquis in downtown Houston.
Former president George W Bush will take part in a closed-door fireside chat with in-person attendees Thursday morning at the event. Other keynote speakers include Phillips 66 chief executive Mark Lashier and Mercuria co-founder Daniel Jaeggi, who will discuss shifting supply and demand issues, the current and expected impact of trade sanctions, and the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. The full agenda is available here.
