By Paul Vieira
The chief executive of pipeline operator Enbridge says he's not keen to pursue energy-infrastructure projects with considerable political risk.
Those remarks likely rule Enbridge out as a possible private-sector builder of a new pipeline the province of Alberta is championing, which as envisaged would carry crude oil from the province to the northern British Columbia coast. The province of British Columbia has voiced its opposition, while the federal Canadian government said it could back a new crude-oil corridor under certain circumstances.
"I don't think investors or the infrastructure companies should be taking on all that risk of the development in jurisdictions that have historically created" political and policy challenges, said Gregory Ebel, Enbridge CEO, in a conference call with analysts Friday to discuss fourth-quarter earnings.
He cited Enbridge's previous experience in trying to develop the Northern Gateway pipeline, which had the backing of a former federal Conservative government. After spending over $400 million, Ebel said the company had to abandon the project in 2016 after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would not approve Northern Gateway. The project, which faced considerable opposition from indigenous communities and environmentalists, also faced setbacks in Canadian courts.
The new pipeline Alberta is looking to build is "not the type of risk that we're looking to take on at this time. You don't need to with other all the other opportunities," Ebel said.
Alberta and the federal Canadian government signed an agreement last year, in which Prime Minister Mark Carney offered conditional support for the pipeline that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith wants constructed. Canada agreed to suspend some environmental rules for Alberta, most notably a cap on carbon emissions for the oil-and-gas sector, and Alberta agreed to adopt a more stringent industrial carbon-pricing system. Carney added Ottawa's approval was conditional on finding a private-sector proponent to lead the pipeline, and a partnership with indigenous communities to ensure they had equity ownership.
Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 13, 2026 17:21 ET (22:21 GMT)
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