June 21, 2012 - 5:03 PM
CALGARY - Canada's pipeline boss says he expects opponents of the Keystone and Northern Gateway projects will use two recent pipeline leaks in Alberta to bolster their argument.
An Enbridge (TSX:ENB) pumping station spilled 230,000 litres of heavy crude northeast of Edmonton this week.
And a pipeline owned by Plains Midstream Canada leaked up to 475,000 litres of light sour crude into the Red Deer River in central Alberta on June 7.
Doug Bloom, chairman of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, says his group takes any spill seriously and strives for zero spills.
But he fears spills of any size are going to be pounced on by energy project opponents who will try to use them as a reason to stop development.
Bloom says the trade reasons for the TransCanada's (TSX:TRP)Keystone XL pipeline to the U.S. and the Northern Gateway line to the West Coast are so compelling that he expects them to eventually go ahead.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012