Trans Mountain Opens Second Open Season for 72,000 bpd as CEO Mark Maki Targets 1.2 Million Barrel Capacity by 2029

Trans Mountain Corporation launched a second open season in May 2026 to secure long-term shipper commitments for 72,000 barrels per day of additional capacity. The federal Crown pipeline already moves 890,000 barrels per day from Edmonton, Alberta, to Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby, British Columbia. CEO Mark Maki confirmed the company plans to add approximately 90,000 barrels per day in the near term using drag reduction agents. Those two near-term steps would push total throughput toward 980,000 barrels per day before any further infrastructure work.

A Phased Path to 1.2 Million bpd

Maki has mapped a phased expansion leading to 1.2 million barrels per day by 2029. A Mainline Optimization Project, accelerated from its original 2030-2031 timeline, will contribute an additional 210,000 barrels per day. Completion of that project is now scheduled for the end of 2028. Combined with the drag reduction agent boost and second open season commitments, the system would reach the CEO's stated target by 2029.

Long-term contract coverage currently sits at 80 percent of the pipeline's capacity. The second open season aims to lift that figure to 90 percent. Maki stated the company expects to "secure full capacity amid the supply crunch caused by the war in the Middle East." Hormuz shipping disruptions over the past several months have prompted Asian refiners to seek Pacific coast supply routes.

Scale of the Second Open Season Commitment

The 72,000 barrels per day targeted in the second open season represent 8.1 percent of the pipeline's current 890,000-barrel-per-day capacity. Sustained over a full year, that commitment covers approximately 26.3 million barrels of crude directed to Pacific markets. WTI crude futures traded at $87.18 per barrel on May 29, 2026, down 1.93 percent on the day, per OilPrice.com. At that price level, the annual flow represents approximately $2.3 billion in crude value moving to Pacific-access buyers.

Federal Crown Ownership and Mandate

Trans Mountain Corp is 100 percent owned by Canada Development Investment Corporation (CDEV), a federal Crown corporation. The company's mandate covers both commercial pipeline operation and ensuring Alberta and British Columbia producers maintain access to international markets. CDEV acquired Trans Mountain from Kinder Morgan in 2018, nationalizing the then-contested expansion project. The subsequent expansion tripled capacity from 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 barrels per day.

WCS Differential and Alberta Producer Revenues

Trans Mountain carries Western Canadian Select (WCS) and diluted bitumen to tidewater, where tankers load for Asian refineries. Greater committed Pacific access reduces the WCS discount to WTI by introducing Asian buyer competition. Before the expansion, the WCS-WTI differential routinely widened to $20 to $30 per barrel during takeaway bottlenecks. As Oil Authority reported when Trans Mountain's expanded throughput narrowed the spread, tighter differentials raise netback revenues for Alberta producers on every barrel shipped.

For Canadian producers that report earnings in Canadian dollars, the USD-denominated WCS price carries a currency translation dimension. Additional Pacific access locks in that structural benefit, reducing reliance on US Gulf Coast and Midwest refinery demand cycles. The second open season timeline indicates full contracted capacity could be in place before the Mainline Optimization Project completes at end of 2028.