Maine Governor welcomes Alberta’s oil as leaders discuss Energy … – The Globe and Mail

Sep. 09 2013

The Governor of Maine is lending his support to TransCanada’s proposed west-east pipeline, saying his state would welcome Alberta’s oil.

The transportation of crude was a key issue as the New England governors and Eastern Canadian premiers held their annual meeting Monday in La Malbaie, Que., where Governor Paul LePage expressed his support for the $12-billion development.

“I think it’s a great project,” LePage said. “I think we need the oil and I think we need gas. Although I would prefer it to be natural gas, it is oil and it’s needed.”

TransCanada Corp.’s Energy East Pipeline project, which still has to clear regulatory reviews, would ship up to 1.1 million barrels of crude per day from Alberta to Quebec in 2017. A 1,400-kilometre extension would be built to ship oil to the Irving Oil refinery in Saint John, N.B., a year later.