TransCanada on Thursday filed for regulatory approval of a proposed Can$12 billion (US$10.7 billion) pipeline to carry western Canadian oil to Atlantic coast refineries and terminals, for shipping overseas.
The project would see 1,600 kilometers (990 miles) of new pipeline linked to an existing 3,000-kilometer (1,864-mile) natural gas pipeline refitted to carry crude oil from landlocked Alberta and Saskatchewan provinces to Quebec and New Brunswick.
Approximately 1.1 million barrels of oil per day would start flowing through it in 2018. Some of that would displace foreign oil imports to eastern Canada while the rest would be shipped overseas.
The project has aroused stiff opposition from environmental groups, but has received tentative support from Ottawa.
TransCanada said in a statement it would bolster Canadian energy security and create thousands of new jobs.
With around 170 billion barrels of oil in the ground, Canada has the world's third largest oil reserves after Venezuela and Saudi Arabia.
However, exports have been limited by a shortage of pipeline capacity and regulatory delays have stalled the construction of two more new pipelines to carry oil from the Alberta oil sands to Canada's Pacific Coast and the US Gulf Coast.
TranCanada said it has submitted a 30,000-page application to the National Energy Board, following 18 months of environmental studies, engineering work and public consultation.
The independent board has 15 months to provide recommendations to the government, which would then have the final say.