Finally filling... Canada's Trans Mountain Corp has begun filling its pipeline expansion with oil in a staged process, a senior executive said on Wednesday, as construction of the long-delayed project nears an end.
The pipeline expansion faces technical challenges in the next two weeks as it finishes the last segment in British Columbia, Chief Financial Officer Mark Maki told Reuters.
"We feel good about progress," Maki said on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. "We've got some key technical things that are coming up here in the coming week or two. And once those are done, I think it should be relatively smooth sailing."
The pipeline, scheduled to be in service in the second quarter, is expected to raise Canadian crude prices just as producers boost production.
One of the technical challenges involves stringing pipeline through hard rock in the final segment, Maki said. Trans Mountain received approval from the Canada Energy Regulator to use smaller-diameter pipe on that segment.