Energy giant Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMP) has released conceptual designs for two Burnaby facilities set for expansion if the company’s plan to twin its Trans Mountain pipeline is approved.
The facilities in question are the storage tank terminal located on Burnaby Mountain and the Westridge Marine Terminal, the terminus of the pipeline.
Currently, the tank terminal consists of 13 tanks, a 24-inch pipeline entering from the southeast and a 24-inch pipeline exiting the terminal to the northwest toward Westridge. The tank terminal has a capacity of 1.6 million barrels of oil.
Kinder Morgan’s designs include 14 new tanks, a new 36-inch pipeline entering from the southeast and two new 30-inch pipelines exiting to the northwest, toward Westridge.
At Westridge, expansion plans include a new dock complex with three new berths capable of loading Aframax-size vessels. Aframax vessels are considered mid-size tankers, capable of carrying up to 120,000 metric tonnes of crude oil. The dock at Westridge can currently handle one vessel that size.
News of the Kinder Morgan designs – and the community meeting scheduled for September 25 in Coquitlam to showcase the drawings – drew ire from residents in Burnaby.
Alan Dutton of BROKE (Burnaby Residents Opposing Kinder Morgan Expansion) said “there’s no point” in going to the information session on the expansion plans. Instead, his organization will hold its own meeting.
“I expect the open house will be the same as the other Kinder Morgan meetings – the goal is to isolate people, have private conversations and limit discussion so people don’t come up with a unified position,” said Dutton.
“It’s part of a strategy to limit discussion.”
Dutton said the community has major concerns over health and safety issues raised by the proposed expansion. He said the fumes from the operation affect air quality. Noise and the potential for oil spills are other issues.
And a major concern is the risk posed to the community in the wake of an earthquake.
“Building a tank farm on the side of a mountain in a seismic zone makes no sense,” he said.
Kinder Morgan forecasts construction of the new terminals to begin in 2016 if the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline is approved. Construction, according to Kinder Morgan documents, would last at least two years.
Plans for an expanded Trans Mountain pipeline include 980 kilometres of new pipeline, new storage tankers in Alberta and Sumas, B.C. – in addition to the ones in Burnaby – and an increased capacity of 890,000 barrels of oil per day.
Twinning the pipeline is a $5.4-billion project.
– With files from Burnaby Now
