Canada Oil Pipeline Capacity To Stay Tight Through 2008.

CNN Money, June 26, 2008 - “Canada’s oil pipeline capacity will likely remain tight this year, but some C$23 billion ($22.7 billion) in proposed projects could help ease the strain in the future, the national energy regulator said Thursday.  Canada’s National Energy Board said some pipeline operators rationed spare capacity on their systems last year, as growing production from Alberta’s vast oil sands struggled to reach existing U.S. markets. In the first quarter of 2008, these systems ran at or near full capacity, which will likely continue for the rest of the year, the NEB said.  Canada’s pipeline infrastructure hasn’t kept pace with the rapid boom in Alberta’s oil sands, which is forecast to top 3.5 million barrels a day by the end of the next decade. Canada is the biggest crude supplier to the U.S., which currently sources about a fifth of its crude demand, or around 2 million barrels a day, from its northern neighbor.” Read more.