Kinder Morgan ready to pay the price

Kinder Morgan is prepared to meet a regulatory requirement to offset greenhouse gas emissions generated by construction of an expanded Trans Mountain pipeline even if that adds millions of dollars to the projected costs, said the company’s Canadian President Ian Anderson.

He told reporters in a series of interviews that “we welcome” the unexpected provision among the 157 recommended by the National Energy Board that the NEB requires Kinder Morgan to reduce the net impact of emissions to nil within four months of the new parallel pipeline starting operations.

Anderson said Kinder Morgan estimates that 1 million metric tons of GHGs will result from the building phase and could be offset by planting trees to capture carbon and by buying emission credits from other parties.

The company has estimated 90 percent of the construction emissions would be generated from land-clearing work and the burning of waste vegetation.

Anderson said his company has started work on satisfying about half of the NEB conditions before construction can begin.

He has no doubt that the current forecast cost of C$6.8 billion to add 590,000 barrels per day of capacity to Trans Mountain will rise, though he is not yet ready to give a final tally.

The federal government cabinet is scheduled to consider a report expected in November from a three-member panel assigned to gather feedback from communities and indigenous communities along the pipeline right of way, then pass a final verdict in December.

Anderson agreed that there is still entrenched opposition to the Trans Mountain expansion in the Metro Vancouver region, especially from Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan, both of whom he said attract “headlines because of the extreme positions they are prepared to take.”

The two mayors have also insisted there are no benefits that Kinder Morgan could offer in return for their endorsement of the project.

A poll conducted by Ottawa-based Abacus Data found British Columbians would be more willing to support the pipeline if the NEB conditions were met, including “evidence that there was a parallel agenda (by the companies involved) to promote an evolving energy mix” for Canada.

- GARY PARK