David Uberti and Vipal Monga of The Wall Street Journal tell their readers that drivers in the U.S. may need to dig deeper into their pockets at the pump, thanks to a new 715-mile pipeline expansion. The Trans Mountain expansion promises to give Canadian oil companies more purchasing power as Canada positions itself as a global energy powerhouse. They write:
Drivers in the Midwest may soon have to pay a bit more at the pump. The reason? Cheap Canadian oil will soon have a new set of buyers.
For years, Canada’s booming oil fields have had few choices but to funnel the country’s thick, tar-like crude oil through pipelines snaking through the Midwest to the Gulf Coast. That has pushed down prices paid by many U.S. refiners and, in turn, gas stations and airports from Minneapolis to Chicago to Detroit.
Those days are numbered. Canadian oil companies will soon have the option to ship crude through a long-delayed, 715-mile pipeline expansion to the Pacific Ocean. That will allow traders to sell more oil to the U.S. West Coast and to fast-growing Asian economies. […]
Assuming that crude actually begins flowing. On Monday, Trans Mountain said drilling issues in the final section of construction would delay the project’s startup to the second quarter. Canadian oil prices fell 5.5% that day in response.
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