Oil Pipelines in Canada

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Oil pipelines in Canada are an integral part of the country’s energy infrastructure.¹ They are the safest and most efficient method of transporting large quantities of Canadian crude oil.² But, they are also a divisive issue.

Environmentalists oppose pipeline construction; they believe renewable energies should receive the investment instead.³ The oil sector argues that they need to build more pipelines to maintain supply for growing international markets.⁴ Some of Canada’s indigenous peoples support pipelines, so long as they have a share.⁵ Others see them as an invasion of their land and are concerned about the environmental risks that they pose.⁶

How many pipelines from Canada are in the US?

There are 31 oil and 39 natural gas pipelines in operation that cross the Canadian-US border.⁷ There are a further 16 pipelines transporting other commodities, plus 10 to 15 are not currently in operation.⁸ Four additional major oil pipelines have been proposed in Canada: Enbridge Line 3 Replacement Project, Energy East, Keystone XL and the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.⁹ All three have experienced significant delays due to regulatory, legal and environmental roadblocks.¹⁰ The Keystone XL pipeline’s construction is currently halted as US President Joe Biden revoked its permit in his first executive order.¹¹ This oil pipeline would have seen over 800,000 barrels per day arrive into Texas from Alberta.

How many miles of pipelines are in Canada and the US?

There are an estimated 521,952 miles of pipelines in Canada.¹² Their infrastructure is dwarfed by the US’ where pipelines stretch for more than 2.6 million miles.¹³ Combined, North American pipelines could encircle the globe more than 125 times.¹⁴ Hundreds of billions of ton-miles of petroleum products and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas are transported each year in this way.¹⁵

Advantages of expanding pipelines for crude oil and natural gas

Pipelines are extremely efficient at moving oil and gas. Members of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association move 3.8 million barrels of crude oil per day through pipelines; the equivalent of 6,300 rail cars¹⁶ or 18,900 trucks.¹⁷ Oil industry representatives want to increase pipeline capacity in order to export more oil from remote locations such as Alberta.¹⁸ They also claim expanding pipelines will create additional jobs and deliver more taxes to the Canadian government.¹⁹

The primary motive for expanding pipelines comes down to economics. Alberta’s oil sands, where the vast majority of Canada’s oil is produced,²⁰ is more costly than crude oil to extract and refine.²¹ It is also more expensive to transport via train or truck, leaving the industry highly dependent upon pipelines.²² Turbulent global oil prices have exacerbated the situation.²³ A barrel of Albertan oil was valued at less than a liter of olive oil in March 2020.²⁴ To maximize profits, Canadian oil companies want to transport more oil via pipelines to refineries in the US midwest or Gulf Coast²⁵ and access international markets such as China.²⁶

What are the arguments against expanding Canada’s oil pipelines?

The investment for oil pipelines could go towards funding clean energy sources instead.²⁷ Canada is already the world’s fourth-biggest producer of crude oil, and environmentalists do not want to increase fossil fuel production.²⁸ If the proposed Trans Mountain pipeline is completed, it will triple the volumes of crude oil moving from Alberta to the British Columbia coast.²⁹

Pipelines also pose a direct threat to the environment.³⁰ Both constructing and operating a pipeline causes unavoidable ecological disturbance.³¹ Construction involves the destruction of habitats, the clearing of vegetation and soil compaction.³² Operation runs the risk of oil spills. Canada’s pipelines spilled an average of 1,084 barrels per year between 2011 and 2014.³³ The harm caused by a spill can be environmentally devastating.³⁴ Not only is it extremely difficult to clean up, but the damage can also make the entire spill area inhospitable to wildlife for decades.³⁵

Canada is committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.³⁶ Projects that expand the harmful oil sands industry and release more carbon dioxide appear contradictory to this target. Whether the economic incentives or the environmentalist opposition for further pipelines will prevail remains to be seen.

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