A $5 Billion Solution to Canada's $50 Billion Pipeline Proposal

Canada is debating whether to spend tens of billions of dollars on a new West Coast oil pipeline. But what if there were a much cheaper alternative that required little public financial support? Engineer Bill Eadie argues that partial upgrading technology could free up pipeline capacity by removing the need to ship large volumes of diluent with bitumen. According to Eadie, that could create the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of barrels per day of new pipeline capacity at a fraction of the cost of building a new export pipeline. In this interview we discuss: • Why about 30% of pipeline capacity is occupied by diluent. • How partial upgrading could reduce transportation costs. • Whether the technology could delay or reduce the need for a new pipeline. • Why previous Alberta governments supported partial upgrading—and why that support disappeared. • Whether taxpayers should finance a new pipeline before seriously evaluating lower-cost alternatives. Whether you support new pipelines or not, this conversation raises an important question: Are Canadians considering all of the available options before committing billions of dollars in public money? #Energy #OilSands #Pipeline #Alberta #Canada #MarkCarney #DanielleSmith #Bitumen #EnergyTransition #EnergyPolicy #Infrastructure #OilAndGas