The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that Calgary-based MEG Energy is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Trans Mountain expansion, with 20,000 barrels per day of contracted capacity on the pipeline. The Globe's Andrew Willis writes that access to TMX now qualifies as a competitive advantage for an oil producer targeted in a multibillion-dollar takeover battle. That likely gave MEG the confidence to turn down a hostile takeover bid from Strathcona Resources. Chinese refiners bought 46.5 million barrels of oil from a Burnaby, B.C., facility in 94 tanker shipments over the past 17 months, according to a recent study by RBC Capital Markets. Oil sands exports to China and other Asian markets, including South Korea and Japan, have quietly solved the long-standing pricing issues that resulted from Alberta producers being entirely dependent on U.S. customers. RBC says increased traffic at the B.C. terminal has permanently narrowed the discount between the price paid for Alberta oil sands crude and North American prices. To beat out potential rivals, Strathcona will likely have to improve an offer timed to win MEG before it can take advantage of further improvements in Western Canada's energy infrastructure.