Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was asked on Thursday about the possibility of a southern route for a new pipeline from Alberta to B.C.

This follows a report that the federal government prefers a southern route, rather than a northern one.

“I think people are forgetting the discussion that happened with Trans Mountain in the first place,” Smith said.

“I mean, one of the big discussions was around … how many additional tankers could go through a very congested port. And there was some discussion around it being 30 for a month. So now we’re already talking about increasing that with the Trans Mountain pipeline, looking like it’s going to get the go-ahead to go out to another 360,000 barrels.

“I guess the question would be, in a very congested port like that, is there an appetite for a doubling once again of that amount of traffic? And so that’s why I’m a bit skeptical that that would be … the appropriate route.”

Smith said they are looking for a route that would end at a deep-water port, with little navigation needed for channels and a rapid way of getting to the Asian markets.

“And when you look further up the coast, you can cut three days off, transatlantic or transpacific transit,” Smith added.

“So that’s why we still favour some of the sites where you would get a deep-water port. And we’re very conscious of the fact that there is a lot of congestion already in that port.”

The Alberta and federal governments announced a sweeping energy accord late last year that lays out a path forward for a new B.C. pipeline, to be built in tandem with massive carbon capture and storage project in Alberta.

The pipeline would require the lifting or changes to legislation that would bar a new oil tanker port on a stretch of the northern B.C. coast.

The Alberta government has expressed a preference for Prince Rupert, B.C., as the pipeline’s end point, given its deep-water port and shorter shipping distance to Asia.

The Globe and Mail reported earlier this week that it’s considering a southern route to Vancouver that could face fewer environmental hurdles and less opposition.

–with files from The Canadian Press