While there is momentum behind the Alberta-Canada energy pact and the province’s drive to see a major new export pipeline built, a few decisive questions still lurk below the surface.

What route will Alberta pitch for a new West Coast pipeline, given the pushback from the British Columbia government against such a project heading to the northern Pacific coast?

Will the Oil Sands Alliance sign on to a large carbon capture network? The federal government has tied approval of a new oil pipeline to the oilsands operators giving the green light to the Pathways decarbonization project.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE: FP West: Energy Insider brings you behind the oilpatch’s closed doors with exclusive insights from insiders every Wednesday morning.

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If both developments advance, how can they ensure there’s enough production to fill pipeline developments that would move more barrels west and south — and what would it take to get new greenfield oilsands projects back on the agenda?

Analyst Menno Hulshof of TD Cowen said Friday’s federal-provincial agreement provides more clarity on an industrial carbon price framework, and more certainty on timing for a proposed West Coast pipeline, leaving a key element — the Pathways project — outstanding.

“There are a lot of questions out there,” Hulshof said Wednesday. “We’ve got sort of two of the three legs of the stool, but getting the third leg across the line is going to be very difficult.”

As part of the deal, Premier Danielle Smith said the government wants to apply for a new West Coast bitumen pipeline by the end of June, and then get through federal approval processes by September 2027.

Where would such a line run, and could it satisfy the opposition from B.C.........

© Calgary Herald