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May start-up of Trans Mountain oil pipeline growth surprises analysts

Trans Mountain's. broadened oil pipeline system will start commercial operations on. May 1, the Canadian governmentowned company said late on. Wednesday, surprising experts with an earlier than expected. commencement on the longdelayed C$ 34billion ($ 25.2 billion). task.

Trans Mountain previously stated start-up would occur in the. 2nd quarter.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Canada is the fourth-largest oil manufacturer but output has. been capped by complete pipelines. Expanding Trans Mountain will. boost deliveries from the British Columbia (B.C.) coast to. Asia and the U.S. West Coast.

ESSENTIAL QUOTE

May 1 is enthusiastic thinking about Trans Mountain needs to. total line fill and get regulatory approvals, said Dylan. White, North American unrefined analyst for Wood Mackenzie, including. that late May or early June is more reasonable.

Pretty well everybody with whom I've spoken regarding. start-up was anticipating June 1, stated Commodity Context. analyst Rory Johnston on X.

It eliminates the (price) volatility we've seen in the. current past because of egress capacity being tight, stated Eight. Capital expert Phil Skolnick.

CONTEXT

Trans Mountain ran into numerous problems throughout. building, most recently installing pipeline in hard rock in B.C.

. The growth will almost triple the circulation of crude from. Alberta to Canada's Pacific Coast to 890,000 barrels daily.

Volumes will increase slowly. The pipeline will be extremely. made use of as early as next year and run full in 2025-26, Trans. Mountain stated in March.

MARKET RESPONSE

Western Canada Select (WCS) oil initially traded little bit. altered from the previous day, a market individual said.

Skolnick expects the WCS discount to West Texas Intermediate. to drop this quarter to single digits, from about $12 per barrel. currently, as the expanded system starts.

WHAT'S NEXT

The broadened pipeline raises competitors with Enbridge's. Mainline and TC Energy's Keystone pipeline,. which take Canadian crude to U.S. refineries.

Enbridge anticipates Trans Mountain's influence on its volumes to. be modest.

(source: Reuters)