The climate has changed since Kinder Morgan started the process of expanding its oil pipeline across B.C. from Alberta — and we're not just talking about global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions from carbon-based fuels.
Three years ago when the process started, the pipeline's approval seemed imminent.
Now, with the Conservatives out of power, oil prices plunging, the Chinese economy taking a breather and its industries not needing Canadian oil, there is little pressure to get that heavy crude out of Alberta quickly.
So, no, environmentalists, the province's decision not to support the project in the final steps of the National Energy Board review doesn't mean much at this time. Granted, it appears the B.C. government and Kinder Morgan are at a deadlock when it comes to the oil pipeline company meeting the province's five conditions for its support.
But there is plenty of time to get these issues resolved even though the NEB is supposed to render its decision in May.
In short, there is simply no reason to rush this process.
What B.C.'s Ministry of Environment said this week is that it wants certainty that the company will have a sufficiently strong spill response, prevention and recovery system. In fact, it has asked three times for information about how B.C. waters would be protected against a spill but did not receive any response.
Kinder Morgan, meanwhile, says it can't make this guarantee because it needs the co-operation of other parties.
No worries, it will be months, even years before oil prices are high enough to make this pipeline profitable, so both sides have time to negotiate.
Admittedly, Kinder Morgan has already spent a lot of time and effort on the regulatory process to date but that's just part of the cost of getting public and government approval. And let's face it, promises of jobs and economic good fortune don't mean much now, when the energy sector is losing so much ground. Most analysts would simply say keep the crude in the ground for now.
So with the new economic realities of oil, Kinder Morgan has more work to do and plenty of time to do it.
