Enbridge Won’t Lead or Fund a West Coast Pipeline Venture, CEO Says

Enbridge’s CEO, Greg Ebel, has made it clear that the company is not prepared to shoulder the financial risks associated with constructing a new oil pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia, despite requests from the Alberta government for Enbridge’s technical guidance.

During a recent earnings call, Ebel stated that Enbridge has no plans to lead or fund a West Coast pipeline venture, emphasizing that neither investors nor infrastructure firms should be exposed to development risk in areas where there have been persistent regulatory hurdles.

Reflecting on the company’s prior involvement with the Northern Gateway project—a $7.9-billion pipeline intended to carry bitumen from Alberta to northern BC—Ebel described how Enbridge poured about $600 million into the project before it was abruptly cancelled in 2016.

The cancellation followed a Federal Court of Appeal decision that found the federal government had not sufficiently consulted First Nations. “The rug was pulled out from underneath us,” he remarked, highlighting why Enbridge is steering clear of similar risks at this time.

Enbridge is among three energy infrastructure firms asked by the Alberta government to lend expertise for a prospective pipeline to the West Coast. Premier Danielle Smith’s administration is preparing to submit a formal application to Ottawa’s Major Projects Office in July, aiming to secure a national interest designation for the pipeline. The hope is that increased capacity will bolster Canada’s export diversification, particularly towards Asian markets.

The pipeline proposal forms the centrepiece of a memorandum of understanding between Alberta and Ottawa, positioning Canada as a global energy leader. Ebel described the agreement as promising but stressed the importance of tangible progress rather than political rhetoric.

“It’s not so much about the signals and the speeches,” he said. “It’s more about the actions and the results.”

He indicated that Enbridge would be willing to take on construction risk once a project is fully approved, but not the uncertainty prior to regulatory sign-off. “We’re quite happy once we get the go-ahead to take the risk on building them,” Ebel said, “but we’re not going to take the risk of them being stopped before they go into service or even before FID,” referring to the significant upfront costs incurred before regulatory approval is obtained.

In 2025, Enbridge landed approximately $14 billion in new projects—including pipeline expansions in Western Canada, enhanced natural gas infrastructure in the U.S., and renewable energy initiatives in BC to power large data centres.

Looking ahead, Ebel anticipates final investment decisions on an additional $10 billion to $20 billion in growth projects over the coming two years.