TransCanada will Not Build Oil Export Terminal in Quebec

TransCanada Corp has decided not to build a proposed oil export terminal in Quebec as part of its C$12 billion ($9.5 billion) Energy East pipeline, opting to ship the crude from Alberta to another terminal in New Brunswick, the La Presse newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The Calgary-based company said it would provide an update on the project this week but declined further comment on the report in La Presse, a Montreal newspaper. The pipeline will still deliver oil to existing refineries in Quebec.

La Presse, which did not cite its sources, said TransCanada had considered moving the proposed terminal from Cacouna to another location in the province but ultimately decided to drop plans for oil exports from Quebec.

The project has been fiercely opposed by environmentalists in Quebec, who worry about the risk of oil spills as well as the impact that construction and shipping would have on Beluga whales in the St. Lawrence River.

TransCanada paused work on the Cacouna terminal in December after a federal committee recommended that Beluga whales in the St. Lawrence be listed as an endangered species. Under Canadian law, it is illegal to destroy critical habitat for animals listed as endangered.

The terminal is one of two marine export facilities planned as part of TransCanada's Energy East pipeline, which would carry 1.1 million barrels per day of crude oil to refineries and ports in Eastern Canada.

Reporting by Julie Gordon and Allison Martell