The government of Canada has assumed control of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion, including a $4.5-billion deal to purchase the existing 710-mile Edmonton-Vancouver line from Houston-based Kinder Morgan. Despite having received approvals from federal and provincial regulators in 2016, the estimated $7.4-billion expansion of the 65-year-old, 300,000 barrel-per-day pipeline system has encountered strong resistance from British Columbia’s political leaders and other groups over fears of environmental damage resulting from oil spills. Pending the transaction’s expected completion in August, Kinder Morgan will use government funding to resume construction of a parallel pipeline designed to boost Trans Mountain’s capacity to nearly 900,000 barrels per day. The Canadian government will then take on the rest of the project, with plans to sell the completed pipeline system to a new owner.