The Port of Churchill, Canada’s only Arctic seaport, is being eyed as potential oil export terminal that could offer ice-free routes as late as October.
At a community meeting in Thompson this August, Denver-based OmniTrax Inc., which owns both Hudson Bay Railway and the Hudson Bay Port Company, floated the idea of “moving unrefined petroleum products” through the Port of Churchill.
OmniTrax wants to ship 330,000 barrels of crude oil from the Port of Churchill in a test this October.
According to Jeff McEachern, executive director of Churchill Gateway Development Corp. the plan has merit, despite the relatively short shipping season, which runs from July to late October. Icebreakers could be used to extend the season, experts say.
“We think we can provide a cost competitive advantage to position [oil] to multiple destinations for a short period of time each year,” McEachern told the Financial Post.
Exporting oil through the Port of Churchill would help Alberta oil producers, who are struggling with transport capacity in a bid to reach foreign markets.
A decision on whether to move forward on the plan is expected early next year. The first oil shipments could be launched by mid-summer 2014 with a goal of shipping two million barrels in the first year.
