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Enbridge's long-delayed Line 3 oil pipeline project to start up Oct. 1 – The Globe and Mail

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Workers at an Enbridge Energy terminal, in Superior, Wis., on June 29, 2018.

Jim Mone/The Associated Press

Enbridge Inc said on Wednesday its Line 3 pipeline replacement project will begin operating on Oct. 1, the first successful major expansion of Canadian crude export capacity in six years, clearing hurdles that other projects were unable to overcome.

Its completion is welcome news for the Canadian energy sector after a number of proposed pipelines, including TC Energy’s Keystone XL, were scrapped due to environmental opposition and regulatory delays.

The $8.2-billion project allows Enbridge to roughly double its capacity to 760,000 barrels per day on the 1,765 km-long (1097 mile-long) pipeline.

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Line 3, built in the 1960s, carries oil from Edmonton, Alberta, to refineries in the U.S. Midwest, but for years was transporting less than its capacity because of age and corrosion. The project was opposed by environmental and Native American groups, particularly in Minnesota, the last stage of the expansion.

Construction in both the United States and Canada took more than seven years to finish, but the project succeeded where other projects have run aground because it was replacing an old line, rather than one starting from scratch, Leo Golden, Enbridge’s vice president of Line 3 Project Execution, told Reuters in an interview.

“This was a safety driven project about replacing existing, aging infrastructure so that set it apart from some of those other projects,” Golden said.

The 542-kilometer Minnesota section of Line 3 is the last part of the pipeline to come in service, following already-completed segments in Canada, North Dakota and Wisconsin.

Golden said Enbridge will start filling the line on Oct. 1 and offer full capacity of 760,000 barrels per day in November. Earlier this month, the company told shippers it would offer 620,000 bpd of crude capacity in October.

He said in future adding capacity through optimizing and expanding existing pipelines would likely be the way the industry goes, given the challenges around building new infrastructure, a view echoed by trade union leaders in the United States.

“The maintenance industry is our future, the lifeline of the oil and gas (pipeline) industry,” said Phillip Wallace, business representative for Pipeliners Union 798, which worked on the project in Minnesota. “Line 3 was the big boy that needed replacing badly.”

The finished project assures Canadian producers their growing oil sands crude output will have access to U.S. markets and global exports via the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Line 3 is the first major Canadian oil pipeline expansion to be completed since Enbridge’s Alberta Clipper project, finished in 2015. However, since 2019 Enbridge has also optimized parts of its existing Mainline system, adding roughly 150,000 bpd of capacity.

HUGE BOOST

The Line 3 replacement project was first announced in 2014 but ran into fierce opposition from environmental groups and Native American tribes, particularly in Minnesota.

U.S. President Joe Biden, who revoked a key permit for the Keystone XL pipeline earlier this year, has been criticized by some environmental groups for allowing the project to proceed. They argue the United States should be reducing its dependence on fossil fuels to fight climate change.

“President Biden and the other politicians who chose to do nothing as treaty rights were violated, waterways were polluted, and peaceful protesters were brutalized have placed themselves on the wrong side of history,” Sierra Club spokesperson Margaret Levin said in a statement.

However, the project was celebrated by trade unions, whose members benefited from thousands of jobs during construction, and Canada’s energy sector, which in the past has struggled with pipeline bottlenecks that depressed the price of Canadian crude and contributed to an exodus of foreign capital.

“This is a huge boost to the industry,” said Martin King, an analyst at RBN Energy. He said projected growth in Canada’s oil sands suggests the industry will need only one more major pipeline expansion, which will be the Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain expansion to the west coast.

Robert Fitzmartyn, head of energy research at Stifel FirstEnergy, said he expected Line 3′s completion to have a positive impact on Canadian oil company shares in the long-term.

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Former crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison – Al Jazeera English

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Bankman-Fried, 32, sentenced for fraud on customers of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded.

Former crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried has been sentenced to 25 years in United States federal prison for stealing $8bn from customers of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange he founded.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan handed down the sentence at a Manhattan court hearing on Thursday after rejecting Bankman-Fried’s claim that FTX customers did not actually lose money and accusing him of lying during his trial testimony.

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A jury found Bankman-Fried, 32, guilty on November 2 on seven fraud and conspiracy counts stemming from FTX’s 2022 collapse in what prosecutors have called one of the biggest financial frauds in US history.

“He knew it was wrong,” Kaplan said of Bankman-Fried before handing down the sentence. “He knew it was criminal. He regrets that he made a very bad bet about the likelihood of getting caught. But he is not going to admit a thing, as is his right.”

Bankman-Fried stood with his hands clasped before him as Kaplan read the sentence.

Kaplan said the sentence reflected “that there is a risk that this man will be in position to do something very bad in the future. And it’s not a trivial risk at all.”

Prior to sentencing, Bankman-Fried stood and apologised. “A lot of people feel really let down. And they were very let down. And I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry about what happened at every stage,” he said.

“My useful life is probably over. It’s been over for a while now, from before my arrest.”

Sam Bankman Fried
Sam Bankman-Fried, centre left, is escorted out of Magistrate Court following a hearing in Nassau, Bahamas, Dec. 19, 2022 [File: Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo]

Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey, reporting from New York, said that Bankman-Fried could have received up to 110 years behind bars for his crimes and that the 25-year sentence was less than the 40-50 years that prosecutors were seeking.

“Given the scale of this crime, one of the largest frauds in history, the judge took a very strong stance but also showed some flexibility… perhaps based on the arguments made by Bankman-Fried’s lawyers and his family that he had always intended to do good”, she said.

Bankman-Fried had billed himself as a proponent of effective altruism – finding the best way to help other people, in particular by donating all or part of one’s wealth to charity rather than, say, volunteering at a soup kitchen.

When the cryptocurrency world lurched into crisis in the spring of 2022, he bought shares in the troubled platform BlockFi and another troubled company, Voyager.

However, prosecutors have said the responsible image he cultivated concealed his years-long embezzlement of customer funds.

“The defendant victimised tens of thousands of people and companies, across several continents, over a period of multiple years. He stole money from customers who entrusted it to him” prosecutors said in a court filing.

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Gas prices in the Thompson Okanagan jumped by 7 cents a litre, days before the next carbon tax increase – Vernon News – Castanet.net

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Some area gas stations are not waiting until April 1 to crank up the price of gas.

On April Fools Day, the federal Liberals will be increasing the controversial carbon tax, which will directly impact the price at the pump.

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However, overnight, several Thompson Okanagan gas stations have already increased the price, selling the liquid gold for 174.9.

In January, gas was selling for a ‘mere’ 143.9 cents a litre. The latest hike is a whopping 31-cent-a-litre increase in just three months.

And the price of petrol is guaranteed to go up again when the carbon tax increase is implemented on Monday.

Kelowna drivers are also paying more at the pump today, with the majority of stations raising the price to 174.9.

As of 9:30 Thursday morning, the Co-op stations on Rutland and Sexsmith roads were at 168.9 as was the Costco gas station.

Several Vernon stations are holding at 167.9.

In Penticton, motorists are also paying more, with the price at the majority of stations hitting the 174.9 mark.

Kamloops drivers are also taking a hit to the wallet with gas in the Thompson community also selling for 174.9.

The Kamloops Costco was the cheapest in the city at 161.9 cents a litre.

Enderby continues to have some of the cheapest gas in the region at 165.9, however the Esso in Tappen has them all beat at 157.9.

Gas in Vancouver has crested the $2 a litre mark, sitting at 202.9 cents a litre.

And as usual, Calgary motorists are paying significantly less than their BC counterparts, filling up for 154.9 cents a litre.

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Calgary breaks all-time record in housing starts but increasing demand keeps inventory low – CBC.ca

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Soaring housing demands in Calgary led to an all-time record for new residential builds last year, but inventory levels of completed and unsold units remained low due to demand outpacing supply.

According to the latest report from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), total housing starts increased by 13 per cent in Calgary, reaching a total of 19,579 units with growth across all dwelling types in the city.

That compares to a decline of 0.5 per cent overall for housing starts in the six major Canadian cities surveyed by CMHC.

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Calgary also had the highest housing starts by population.

“Part of the reason why we think that might have happened is that developers are responding to low vacancies in the rental market,” said Adebola Omosola, a housing economics specialist with CMHC.

“The population of Calgary is still growing, a record number of people moved here last year, and we still expect that to remain at least in the short term.”

Earlier this year, the Calgary Real Estate Board also predicted that demand, especially for rental apartments, wouldn’t let up any time soon. 

Industry can cope with demand, expert says

According to numbers from the report, average construction times were higher in 2023 for all dwelling types except for apartments.

The agency’s report suggests the increase in the number of under-construction residential projects might mean builders are operating at or near full capacity.

However, there’s optimism the construction industry can match the increasing need.

Brian Hahn, CEO of BILD Calgary Region, said despite concerns around about construction costs, project timelines and labour shortages, the industry has kept up with the demand for new builds.

Demand is expected to remain robust, but the construction industry can keep up, according to BILD Calgary region CEO Brian Hahn.
Demand is expected to remain robust, but the construction industry can keep up, according to BILD Calgary Region chief executive officer Brian Hahn. (Shaun Best/Reuters)

“I’ve heard that kind of conversation at the end of 2022 and I heard it in 2023,” Hahn said.

“Yet here we are early in 2024, and January and February were record numbers again.”

Hahn added he believes the current pace of construction will continue for at least the next six months and that the industry is looking at initiatives to attract more people to the trades.

Increase in row house and apartment construction

Construction growth was largely driven by new apartment projects, making up almost half of the housing starts in Calgary in 2023.

The federal housing agency says 9,034 apartment units were started that year, an increase of 17 per cent from the previous year. Of those, about 54 per cent were purpose-built rentals.

Apartments made up around two-thirds of all units under construction, CMHC said, with the total number of units under construction reaching 23,473.

Growth, however, was seen across all dwelling types. Row homes increased by 34 per cent from the previous year while groundbreaking on single-detached homes grew by two per cent.

“Notwithstanding challenges, our members and the industry counterparts that support them managed to produce a record amount of starts and completions,” Hahn said.

“I have little doubt that the industry will do their very best to keep pace at those levels.”

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