500k – 800k barrels of oil per day could flow from Alberta to local refineries

Heather Wright/The Independent

Sarnia’s refineries could soon be getting a lot more Alberta oil.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the route for the Northern Shield pipeline from Alberta to Sarnia’s refineries. Smith says the pipeline would move an additional 500,000 barrels of Alberta oil per day, with the potential for a future expansion of up to 800,000 barrels per day.

“This new corridor will include the concept of a strategic petroleum reserve, or SPR, that will store vital Alberta oil reserves in the Sarnia refinery area to ensure key refined products like diesel, jet fuel, and gasoline are uninterrupted,” she said during a news conference Monday in Alberta.

Ontario is working on a cost estimate and will examine commercial models and related development opportunities for the energy corridor.

“The Northern Shield Energy Corridor will include a new pipeline built using Canadian steel by Canadian workers that will bring oil from Hardisty, Alberta to new and expanded refineries in Sarnia, Ontario, including Sarnia’s vital energy and shipping routes,” said Premier Ford. Ford says bringing Alberta oil to Sarnia will ” fuel our province’s economic growth and help.”

Ford told reporters Ontario hopes to have a feasibility study complete in a year and he’s already been talking to the federal government’s “Major Projects Office” which prioritizes national-building projects.

The premier says Ontario is “exploring new existing port options for pipeline extensions and (a) potential strategic petroleum reserve, will define estimated costs, explore commercial options, and engage further with potential private sector partners. We’ve launched and will honour our duty to consult with indigenous communities.”

Both Premiers say there are options to extend the pipeline to the East Coast and to Churchill, Manitoba if there is the political will. And both say while they would welcome commercial investors, building the pipeline with taxpayers dollars is also on the table. Smith says using taxpayers dollars for pipelines will pay dividends in the long run as the provinces will earn revenue from companies using it to transport oil to Sarnia.

Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley called the Northern Shield pipeline announcement “a lot of good news for Sarnia-Lambton, in a social medial post Monday. “When the Premier visited Sarnia City Hall last August, we discussed that Sarnia-Lambton needed to be part of any new Canadian Pipeline as Eastern Canada’s Energy Hub. A huge step forward announced today with lots more work to be done,” Bradley said.

Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey also expressed support for the pproject.

“Connecting Alberta’s vast energy resources to the Sarnia-Lambton Petrochemical Hub through a new, fully Canadian pipeline is the perfect example of a nation-building project that can power our collective economic growth for generations to come,” Bailey said in an email.

“I look forward to the completion of the feasibility study later this year and will do everything in my power to support and advance this vision for the Northern Shield Energy Corridor.”