The 890,000 b/d Trans Mountain pipeline system moving crude from Alberta to the Pacific coast was 79pc full in the second quarter, the federally-owned company disclosed this week.
Trans Mountain moved 703,000 b/d of crude on its dual pipeline system across April-June, up from 471,000 b/d in the same period 2024, the company said on 27 August. The roughly 1,200km (745 mile) system connecting Edmonton, Alberta, to delivery points in British Columbia (BC) and Washington state nearly tripled in capacity in May 2024 with the addition of a second, larger line.
Throughputs during the second quarter reflect a decrease from the 757,000 b/d in the first quarter when the system ran at 85pc utilization.
About 80pc of the system is tied up in long-term contracts with the balance left for uncommitted shipments.
The original line, Line 1, was built in 1953, has capacity of about 350,000 b/d and flows primarily light crude and products. The Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX), or Line 2, can flow 540,000 b/d and caters mostly to heavy crude shippers.
Trans Mountain delivered 443,000 b/d to Westridge Marine Terminal (WMT) in Burnaby, BC, in the second quarter where volumes are loaded onto ships for export. This is nearly triple the 157,000 b/d recorded in the same quarter 2024 and is in line with the 445,000 b/d moved in the first quarter.
The Trans Mountain system also has a terminal at the Canada-US border near Sumas, Washington, that diverts crude to refineries in Washington state via the company's 111km Puget Sound Pipeline. Movements on Puget Sound fell to 170,000 b/d in the second quarter, down from 229,000 b/d in the same quarter in 2024.
Deliveries to other terminals in BC averaged 90,000 b/d in the second quarter, up from 85,000 b/d from a year earlier.
From May 2024 to 30 June this year, WMT loaded 306 vessels with 58pc heading to Asia-Pacific, mostly China, according to Trans Mountain. The remaining 42pc went to California, Washington or Alaska.
Trans Mountain posted a profit of C$150mn ($108mn) on the quarter, up from a C$48mn loss during the same quarter of 2024. Trans Mountain said it has returned C$729mn to the federal government so far this year through interest, fees and dividends, and is on pace to return C$1.5bn across 2025.
