The bitter dispute between Alberta and British Columbia over the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project is heating up ahead of the May 31 deadline given by Kinder Morgan for the provinces to sort out their differences, and Alberta’s energy minister has assured that the threat to turn off oil shipments to B.C. is no bluff.

“This isn’t just talk. B.C. keeps throwing up roadblocks in front of us. This isn’t a bluff. We’re absolutely prepared to use it, should we need to use it,” Marg McCuaig-Boyd, the energy minister of Alberta, said, as quoted by Toronto Sun.

Two months ago, Alberta’s Lieutenant Governor Lois Mitchell said that all options for retaliation against B.C.’s opposition to the Trans Mountain expansion are on the table, including cutting off crude oil shipments.

Tired of the delays and of being caught in between two provinces, Kinder Morgan a month ago said that it would suspend its Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project entirely if the legal issues surrounding it cannot be resolved by May 31.

Following Kinder Morgan’s announcement, Alberta’s Premier Rachel Notley said:

“First, Premier Horgan believes he can harass this project without economic consequences for his province. He is wrong. We will be bringing forward legislation in coming days giving our government the powers it needs to impose serious economic consequences on B.C. if its government continues on its present course. Second, Premier Horgan believes he can harass the investors and managers of Kinder Morgan, that they will give up, and that this will kill this project. He is wrong here as well.”



Related: Can China Meet Its Nuclear Power Goals?

Referring to the threat to suspend oil shipments to B.C., Alberta’s energy minister McCuaig-Boyd said, as carried by Toronto Sun:

“There’s no timeline. If we need to use it, we’ll use it sooner. We’re not messing around.”

In its latest attempt to fight the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, British Columbia is asking the B.C. Court of Appeal if the province has the right to require the companies willing to carry heavy oil through B.C. to get permits from the province.

If the B.C. Court of Appeal grants the provincial government the powers to regulate oil flows through its territory, then Alberta would by analogy gain the same right, which would end up as a problem for B.C., said Alberta’s Premier Rachel Notley said in response to the B.C. move.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: