The Trans Mountain chief operating officer said on Tuesday that the pipeline would likely be operating at peak capacity by the end of January at the earliest, as work continues amid torrential rains that the company said will have caused heavy rain. damages of tens of millions of dollars.
The pipeline was closed on November 14 as a precaution following flooding in the Hope area of B.C. and was restarted last week.
The federal company’s chief operating officer, Michael Davies, said the 21-day shutdown was the longest in the pipeline’s 68-year history.
Trans Mountain has now returned to more than 70% of its capacity, he said, allowing rationing of natural gas in southern British Columbia to end on Tuesday.
The company said in a Dec. 6 statement that it expected gasoline and crude oil supply levels “to return to normal levels within a week.”
Trans Mountain, which operates the only pipeline system in Canada transporting oil from Alberta to the West Coast, typically pumps about 300,000 barrels of oil per day between Edmonton and Burnaby, British Columbia.
About 400 workers remain in the field to stabilize the banks, secure the pipes and assess other repairs, Davies said.