Alberta will begin moving oil by rail following $3.7B investment

The Alberta government is moving forward with a medium-term measure as the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion remains in limbo.

On Tuesday, the provincial government announced a $3.7-billion investment in 4,400 leased railway cars that will move up to 120,000 barrels of oil per day by 2020.

“Pipelines will always be the best, most efficient, most economical long-term solution,” Alberta Premier Rachel Notley told a news conference.

“We must take action today to provide more relief to our energy workers and the families who rely on these good jobs across this province and this country."

The province estimates the plan will lead to a $5.9-billion increase in royalties, tax revenues and profits over three years, meaning a net gain of $2.2 billion.

It expects the discount for Western Canadian heavy oil versus U.S. light crude will shrink by US$4 a barrel.

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Great to see my former Edmonton Griesbach constituent Barbara McIntyre at the pro-pipeline rally today here on Parliament Hill. She recently moved to Ottawa seeking work because there was none for her in Edmonton. Another good reason to get job-creating pipelines built! #UnitedWeRoll #iloveoilandgas #Alberta #AlbertaStrong #cdnpoli #cdnpoli #cpc #ucp #nocarbontax

A post shared by Kerry Diotte (@kerrydiotte) on Feb 19, 2019 at 11:11am PST

The announcement comes the same day as a pro-pipeline protest in the form of a giant convoy landed in Ottawa.

The convoy spent the day on Parliament Hill adamantly protesting two bills that overhaul environmental assessments of energy projects and ban oil tankers from the northern coast of British Columbia.

With files from the Canadian Press.