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British Columbians will certainly have to pay more at the pump if Alberta acts on threats to restrict the flow of gasoline and oil through the Trans Mountain pipeline, experts say.

It could mean an immediate increase of 20 to 50 cents for a litre for gas and fuel shortages within days.

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It would also require a massive overhaul of our fuel supply chains, meaning up to 300,000 barrels a day of oil and other fuels will have to find their way to the coast in rail cars, trucks, barges and tankers.

The infrastructure doesn’t exist to suddenly start unloading and storing large amounts of oil and gasoline from different kinds of vessels, said analyst Dan McTeague of Gas Buddy. “You can’t build a terminal overnight.”

Wholesale gas prices in Vancouver are already the highest in North America and “supply is as tight as a drum,” said McTeague. “There isn’t enough to go around and if we needed more, it would take a long time to get here.”