This Tar Sands Oil comes through the existing Trans Mountain Pipeline.
This comes from the Calgary Herald.
Cenovus makes first China oil shipment through Vancouver
Oilsands producer Cenovus Energy Inc. has sent its first shipment of crude oil to China, beating the opening of the controversial Northern Gateway pipeline by about five years.
President and chief executive Brian Ferguson revealed Wednesday in an interview with the Calgary Herald that the company had sent its first half-tankerload of oil - about 250,000 barrels - to an unspecified Chinese customer.
Also Wednesday, Cenovus said it would extend its search for a joint venture partner on its Telephone Lake oilsands assets in northern Alberta because there has been a late surge of interest from international investors.
The Trans Mountain pipeline's owner Kinder Morgan are hoping to double this pipeline's capacity. By utilizing an existing pipeline's route that expansion proposal would face fewer permitting hurdles than building the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline to a tanker terminal in northern B.C.. Short of a major policy change in Ottawa the biggest obstacle to Kinder Morgan's plan to double the capacity of Trans Mountain would probably be the residents of Vancouver, who won't like the idea of seeing Vancouver's magnificent harbor turned into an Oil Port.
The narrow entrance to Vancouver's inner harbor
Kinder Morgan investigates twinning Trans Mountain pipeline
The upgrade would double Trans Mountain’s capacity from 300,000 barrels per day to 600,000 or more.
The pipeline is already doubled from Darfield south to Kamloops, and through Jasper and Mount Robson parks.
If the twinning project goes ahead, it appears local constructio would occur from near Valemount to Darfield. There also would be construction from Jasper to Edmonton, and from Kamloops to Burnaby.
Trans mountain Tar Sands Pipeline project gets infrastructure, more tankers, long term contracts
This comes from the Vancouver Sun.
$210-million expansion will boost capacity at Kinder Morgan’s Edmonton oil tank farm
Much of the crude goes by pipeline to Washington state’s Puget Sound refineries, while the rest is loaded onto tankers for export. The line also carries refined petroleum and supplies the Vancouver International Airport with jet fuel.
So the existing Trans mountain pipeline is sending most of its up to 300,000 barrels per day to two refineries in my state of Washington.
As it happens while I was finishing this post it came to my attention that one of those refineries,
the BP Refinery at Cherry Point just had a HUGE fire.
Update: The Fire is out.
UPDATE 4-Crews extinguish fire at BP's Cherry Point, Wash, refinery
Refinery still operating, all workers accounted for
* Wholesale gasoline jumps in LA market after fire
* Refinery's hydrocracker cited 12 times in 2010
SEATTLE/HOUSTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - A large blaze on Friday afternoon shut the only crude distillation unit at BP Plc's 225,000 barrel per day (bpd) Cherry Point refinery, the largest in Washington state, according to sources familiar with refinery operations.