The Financial Post reports in its Thursday edition that Suncor says it will be banking on its trading platform to remove middlemen and directly negotiate with new customers to get a "unique" advantage once it starts shipping to new regions through Canada's newest pipeline. The Post's Naimul Karim writes that the Alberta company, which reported first-quarter net earnings of $1.6-billion and an all-time high in oil-sands production, said the May 1 start of Trans Mountain Corp.'s new pipeline would increase oil production profits, but that could be partially offset by increased refinery costs. "What might make us a bit unique is we are not reliant on third party trading shops," Dave Oldreive, Suncor's executive vice-president of downstream, said. "This allows us to capture the full value of the transaction by transacting directly with customers." He added that the company has leased vessels operating in the Pacific, which will give it an advantage in terms of shipping costs. The new 1,150-kilometre pipeline is part of an expansion project that twins an existing line built in 1953 connecting Alberta and British Columbia. Mr. Oldreive said he expects crude oil in the pipeline to reach markets in California and Asia.