Canadian operators can finally see expanded oil export options on the horizon after a series of positive pipeline expansion decisions in the early part of this year, though industry officials caution that the approvals given do not mean lines will definitely get built.

In January the Canadian government approved Kinder Morgan Canada’s Trans Mountain expansion and Enbridge’s Line 3 replacement programme, and re-commenced the regulatory review of TransCanada’s proposed Energy East pipeline.

US President Donald Trump then added to that last week when he breathed new life into TransCanada’s once-dead C$8 billion (US$6.1 billion) Keystone XL project — inviting it to reapply for approval of the proposed cross-border system.

“There has been a flurry of pipeline approvals,” said Canadian Energy Pipeline Association chief executive Chris Bloomer, “but approving something doesn’t necessarily mean it gets done, and all the approvals have a little bit of different flavour to them.”

In other words, there is no guarantee any of the projects will proceed given the opposition each faces from environmentalists, First Nations and municipalities.

The only certainty is that Canadian producers have more infrastructure options to consider, whereas a year ago the only likely candidate was seen as Enbridge’s Northern Gateway — approval for which was ultimately overturned in a federal court and later dismissed from proceeding by the Canadian government.

Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers chief executive Tim McMillan believes recent events have created “a good situation to be in” after struggling for the past decade with insufficient capacity and poor Western Canadian Select oil pricing compared with Brent or West Texas Intermediate prices.

“When companies have looked at investing in Canada in the past that has been a barrier — ‘Can I get my products to market efficiently?’ They look at the differentials. It has been a barrier and it has driven investment to other places of the world,” said McMillan.

“All of these projects are important and Canada’s potential to be a supplier of choice in the world is enhanced when we have that optionality.”

However, one senior analyst at Wood Mackenzie said: “Canadian oil producers are not going to breathe a sigh of relief until the oil is flowing through the pipes. I don’t think Keystone XL is out of the woods yet.” Resubmitting its application to the US Department of State on 26 January, Keystone XL still faces public opposition and difficulty in obtaining permits from US states such as Nebraska, as well as negotiating fiscal terms with Trump — including a potential mandate to use American-made materials only such as steel in the pipeline’s construction.

Before being denied a Presidential Permit from former US leader Barack Obama in November 2015, it was reported TransCanada could have acquired as much as a quarter of the pipe needed for the nearly 1900-kilometre system from a Saskatchewan-based fabricator.

Despite the obvious hurdles, all seem optimistic that Canada’s output of light and heavy crude would be able to meet the capacity demand of proposed systems — including Energy East, which is still in the preliminary stages of its regulatory review.