The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Aug. 4, edition that the Trans Mountain Expansion project is expected to call on oil producers to start filling the pipeline as soon as this month. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe reports that the expanded pipeline will require up to five million barrels to fill the line before it can start shipping, Canadian Natural Resources president Tim McKay said Thursday, a move that is expected to boost Western Canada Select. Mr. McKay said on a quarterly earnings call: "From all indications, TMX will be making a call for line fill here in the fall, August, September, October. From that aspect I look at it as very positive and very constructive for Canada's oil." Canadian Natural has committed to shipping 94,000 bpd on TMX, which is meant to start operating in the first quarter of 2024. Once complete, TMX will ship an extra 590,000 barrels per day of Alberta oil to Canada's Pacific Coast, adding to the 300,000 bpd of existing capacity. The project, however, has been dogged by years of regulatory delays and a quadrupling of its budget to $30.9-billion, and was bought by the Canadian government in 2018 to ensure it got built.