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New pipelines aren’t needed to move Alberta oil to export terminals because there’s already enough rail and pipeline capacity, a new report says.

The provincial government has backed controversial plans for expansion of the TransMountain line to Vancouver and the proposed Energy East pipeline to New Brunswick, but such schemes aren’t necessary, according to a study published Thursday by the Parkland Institute.

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Author David Hughes calculated Alberta’s 100-megatonne cap on annual oilsands greenhouse gas emissions will allow bitumen production to increase by 45 per cent from 2014 levels.

That output can be carried by existing rail and pipeline companies, with space left over to allow for maintenance and outages, concluded Hughes, who said he didn’t take into account possible improvements to emissions technology.

“Notwithstanding the fact that the existing pipeline and rail infrastructure could handle a 45-per-cent growth in bitumen production over 2014 levels … governments and industry are pushing for more export pipelines,” he wrote.