On June 5, 2025, the Government of British Columbia (BC) approved that ongoing construction had been sufficiently commenced on a new pipeline intended to supply natural gas to a proposed floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal off the province’s north coast, therefore allowing it to continue without new permits. Given current market demands and provincial interests, it is reasonable to expect that BC should support another oil pipeline to facilitate exports from its northwest coast which would ultimately result in increased Canadian oil and gas production and the diversification of Canada’s oil and gas markets. Furthermore, it could facilitate mutually beneficial opportunities between BC and its largest provincial trading partner, Alberta.
BC-Alberta trade interdependence and economic opportunity
Alberta provides the market for most of the natural gas liquids (NGL) and all of the condensate produced from BC’s natural gas. NGL and condensate revenue (known as liquids value) is the driver behind natural gas production in western Canada. However, because natural gas prices in western Canada have been very low or even at times negative, natural gas production has only been viable in recent years due to its liquids value.
In addition, BC NGLs are a significant feedstock for Alberta’s petrochemical industry and BC condensate is used almost exclusively to blend with Alberta’s bitumen so it can be transported to export markets. Condensate alone generates billions of dollars in revenue each year for BC and its natural gas producers, making BC’s trade relationship with Alberta critical to its highly prospective natural gas industry.
An oil pipeline could also provide opportunities to increase trade and provide power security by creating a northern electrical transmission link between Alberta and BC. Such a link would increase power reliability in Alberta and BC with the potential to reduce electricity costs for consumers in both provinces.
The case for an agnostic trade corridor linking Alberta to BC’s northwest coast gives reason to believe that a new oil pipeline would serve the interests of both provinces—and of Canada as a whole. The oil and gas industries in Alberta and BC are mutually dependent on one another, and the inability to build pipelines between the two provinces represents a significant trade barrier.
For more information on this topic, please contact the author, Bernard J. Roth, KC.
