Energy regulator approves Trans Mountain settlement, finds tolls reasonable

A long-running dispute over how Trans Mountain Corp. manages the tolls that oil producers pay to access the pipeline was resolved Monday, after a Canada Energy Regulator commission found that the Crown corporation’s tolls were just and reasonable.

The conflict stemmed from disagreements between Trans Mountain and companies that use the line to ship crude to the coast. At its heart was a clash about how to share the cost of expanding the pipeline system, which was completed in 2024 and expanded the system’s capacity from roughly 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000.

The case had deterred usage of Canada’s only east-west oil pipeline and hindered the federal government’s plan to sell the line. Resolving it took more than 18 months of extensive discussions between Trans Mountain and a group of oil shippers including Cenovus Energy, Canadian Natural Resources and ConocoPhillips Canada.

Monday’s decision by the CER commission will allow Trans Mountain to contract up to 90 per cent of the pipeline’s capacity to shippers, an increase from the previously approved allocation of 80 per cent.

The commission also determined that Trans Mountain can still ensure other shippers have meaningful access to available pipeline capacity, according to a judgement on the regulator’s website.

A combination of factors have seen the system run at capacity recently, including production growth in Alberta, other pipelines out of the province being largely full, and the continuing global energy crisis exacerbated by the war in Iran.

The CER said that the commission did not receive any comments opposing the negotiated settlement from parties with a commercial interest in the resulting tolls.