Trans Mountain pipeline shutdown effects to ripple into new year

The oil pipeline will cut capacity by 16 per cent in January

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The effects of a three-week shutdown of a key Canadian oil pipeline will ripple into January.

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Trans Mountain Canada Inc. will cut capacity by 16 per cent in January, the company told shippers in a notice. It’s also reducing December capacity by an additional nine per cent on top of previously-announced cuts.

The 300,000 barrel-a-day pipeline is the only one that carries oil and motor fuel from Alberta to the Vancouver area, also supplying Washington state refineries with crude. Trans Mountain was shut in mid-November because of flooding that washed away soil and exposed sections of the line.

The shipper notice contrasts with a Dec. 6 update on the company’s website that said gasoline and crude oil supply levels for Trans Mountain customers should return to normal within a week.

The shutdown of the pipeline after torrential rains in British Columbia prompted Vancouver’s sole refinery to suspend operations and contributed to a decision by the provincial government to ration fuel in areas of the province.

Bloomberg.com