Germany Chancellor plans lithium deal with Serbia after Rio ruling
Olaf Scholz plans to visit Serbia this week to secure supplies of lithium that are critical for the nation’s energy transition and auto industry.
Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMP) is going ahead with its planned $5 billion expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline in Canada, which brings crude oil from the Alberta oil sands to Vancouver’s port.
The company said that it expects to nearly triple the capacity of the 1,150-kilometre pipeline, going from the current capacity of 300,000 barrels per day to 850,000 barrels per day.
Ian Anderson, president of Kinder Morgan Canada, said the plan is to also expand the Westridge Marine Terminal in Vancouver to allow larger tanker ships to transport the oil to Asia.
The announced extension of Trans Mountain, built in 1953 to bring oil to southwestern B.C., is expected to fire up reactions. This because the Texas-based energy company will construct as much new capacity as Enbridge Inc. has proposed for the Northern Gateway pipeline, said Wilderness Committee campaigner, Ben West.
“This new, super-sized proposal is simply outrageous,” he added. “A bigger pipeline means bigger opposition.”
Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been saying lately the country needs to find new ways to get Alberta’s crude to buyers other than the United States.
Local oil producers, on the other hand, are urging authorities to develop a line to let them tap high-paying Asian markets and U.S. refineries in the West Coast.
Comments
Chris Armstrong
It seems that Kinder Morgan is “a law unto itself”, as is much of Big Oil ! WHAT IS THEIR TRACK RECORD WITH OIL SPILLS ? WE KNOW THAT ENBRIDGE’S RECORD IS AN ABOMINATION ! Are there no regulatory and environmental approvals to obtain? The Port of Vancouver does not appear to me to be a very wise terminus. Would not Delta Port be more sensible? Let’s just make sure that, when there is a spill, the company pays a SEVERE PENALTY: maybe $1.0 million per barrel spilled. A token slap on the wrist is completely useless. These companies care SQUAT about the environment and future generations: “lip service” is CHEAP and pretty much meaningless. The only thing they understand is money. A pipeline spill = a BIG PENALTY ! Anything less WILL NOT PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT !!