Premier Brad Wall worries about death of Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion after B.C. election

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is worried that the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion may be dead in the water.

After a very close provincial election in British Columbia, it appears the B.C. Green Party will support the NDP in the legislature, giving the party a one-seat majority.

Both parties have opposed the expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline, which would run from Edmonton to Burnaby, B.C., and carry 890,000 barrels of oil per day, tripling its capacity.

"That's of grave concern for me," said Wall. "As Canadians, we're home to the third greatest oil reserve in the world, and yet we don't get any of it to tidewater."

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Wall said the majority of crude oil is currently sold at a discount, and the Kinder Morgan pipeline would do a lot to ease that pressure.

"It means we can't access markets around the world, effectively," he said. "We would like other provinces to understand that this resource we have in Saskatchewan and western Canada benefits the whole country. It's been funding equalization payments for a long time."

Earlier today, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley vowed that the pipeline would be built, as it had already been granted approval by the federal government.

Wall said there would be serious consequences to the provincial economy if the pipeline expansion didn't go through. Steelmaker Evraz has received a contract to make the steel for the project, and 900 jobs could be on the line.

"Those are steelworkers," he said. "Those are very, very good union jobs." 

The Calgary-based company expects to begin construction for the project in September, with a completion date set for December 2019. Construction costs are set at $7.4 billion.