March 25 (Reuters) - Canada's Trans Mountain launched a

bidding process on Wednesday to secure incremental firm

transportation contracts on its pipeline system.

The Open Season, the process to formally gauge commercial

interest in potential projects to increase the system's

capacity, will run from April 7 to June 2.

The Open Season is expected to result in 80% to 90% of its

890,000 barrels per day (bpd) pipeline system being under

contract, covering shipments between Edmonton, Alberta and

delivery locations in British Columbia, the company said.

The Trans Mountain pipeline, which is owned by the Canadian

government, ships oil from the province of Alberta to British

Columbia's west coast, where it can be shipped to overseas

markets including China.

The company intends to file an application with the Canada

Energy Regulator for the required approvals.

Trans Mountain said it plans more such processes over the

next year, with future projects expected to increase throughput

by about 90,000 bpd by early 2027. Its Mainline Optimization

Project is expected to add 210,000 bpd by the end of 2028, the

company added.

The projects would lift total pipeline capacity to about

1,190,000 bpd from roughly 890,000 bpd currently, Trans Mountain

said.