The Alberta government plans to head up an application for a new oil pipeline to the B.C. coast, leveraging the expertise of Enbridge Inc. ENB-T, South Bow Corp. SOBO-T and Trans Mountain Corp. to help develop the plan, according to three sources.

The idea is to hammer out an application and an early estimate that can be sent to the federal government’s new Major Projects Office, the sources said, but a final route has not yet been decided.

The Globe and Mail is not naming the sources as they were not authorized to speak publicly about Alberta’s plans.

The three companies will work with the government and the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute to hammer out the backbone of the models of a potential route, one source said.

While there is a small financial risk to the province to file an application, the sources said it’s nowhere near the $1.3-billion Alberta put up to back the Keystone XL pipeline project, which was scrapped in 2021 after Joe Biden pulled its permit as one of his first official acts as U.S. President.

The idea is not for the province to own a pipeline, they said, it’s about developing a plan and a route, and letting private capital take over.