TransCanada CEO says there’s no silver lining for pipelines after rail disaster
Posted Jul 9, 2013 11:48:42 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CALGARY – The CEO of one of Canada’s biggest pipeline companies says there’s no silver lining in the Lac-Megantic train disaster.
There have been suggestions that transporting oil by pipeline may become more palatable after several oil-laden rail cars exploded over the weekend in the Quebec town.
But TransCanada boss Russ Girling says there’s “no good news here for anybody” in the tragedy and the notion that the pipeline industry will somehow benefit makes no sense.
“This is a tragic event that shakes everybody and shakes all of us that are in the business,” he said Tuesday.
“In terms too going forward, we need energy infrastructure. It makes tremendous sense. People continue to have needs for starting their vehicles every morning, cooking their food, heating their homes. We have an obligation to do that as safely as we can.”
Girling says he’s “extremely optimistic” the company’s proposal to ship Western crude east via Quebec has enough customer support to go ahead.
TransCanada’s (TSX:TRP) Keystone XL proposal to connect mostly oilsands crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast has been in limbo for years amid fervent environmental opposition.
Girling says a mid-summer decision by the Obama administration on Keystone XL is looking unlikely and he can’t predict when the protracted regulatory process will finally wrap up.
