TransCanada pulls plug on oil export terminal in Quebec
Calgary, Edmonton-based TransCanada Corporation has ditched plans to build a port in Quebec for shipping crude oil overseas, according to Reuters.
TransCanada, a major energy firm specializing in pipelines for delivering oil and gas, had planned to feature an oil export terminal in Quebec as part of its Energy East pipeline project for transporting crude from Alberta’s oil sands to Canada’s east coast and beyond.
It will still go ahead with plans for a terminal at the pipeline’s end point in Saint John, New Brunswick, always intended to be the major port of the two.
TransCanada said it reached the decision to cancel the Quebec terminal after canvassing the opinions of local communities and stakeholders.
The company had previously cancelled a plan for a terminal in Cacouna, Quebec, after environmentalists raised concerns that it would harm beluga whales on the St Lawrence River.
TransCanada had been looking at other possible Quebec locations for a terminal but this decision closes the door on that quest.