May 1 (Reuters) – After 12 years and C$34 billion ($25 billion), Canada's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project (TMX) began commercial oil shipments on Wednesday, a major milestone expected to transform access to global markets for the country's producers.
Pipeline constraints have forced Canadian oil producers to sell oil at a discount for many years, but TMX will nearly triple the flow of crude from landlocked Alberta to Canada's Pacific coast to 890,000 barrels per day (bpd).
For Canada, the world's fourth-biggest oil producer, the additional pipeline capacity is set to boost crude prices, lift national gross domestic product and expand access to Asian oil markets.
TMX will substantially boost Canada's oil export capacity and could help shrink the discount on benchmark Canadian heavy crude, currently around $13.50 a barrel below U.S. crude, to less than $10 a barrel, analysts at RBC Capital Markets said in a note to clients.
