Liquefied Natural Gas and Petroleum

Northwest BC is the window to the Asian Pacific markets and offers not only year round ice-free, deep-sea ports, but also the industrial infrastructure to support activities in the oil and gas sector.

BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Responsible for Housing

British Columbia is poised to become a global energy powerhouse. From clean, green hydro, wind and biomass power to world-class natural gas resources, our province’s advantages promise an exciting future as a reliable supplier of energy products and services to international markets and climate-conscious consumers. The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Responsible for Housing has set out a plan in order to achieve this.

The BC Ministry of Energy, Mines and Responsible for Housing’s Oil and Gas Commission regulated the crude oil, natural gas and pipeline activities in the province of British Columbia. As an efficient, single-window agency, the commission is helping the oil and gas industries grow and prosper by streamlining the applications and approval processes while maintaining provincial environmental standards. The ministry website includes information on BC oil and gas industry activities and regulations.

The Ministry of Energy, Mines and Responsible for Housing has developed a  Natural Gas strategy and complementary strategy focusing specifically on the development of a brand-new LNG sector that sets out a visionary plan for development of the sector. Through the LNG strategy, the province has an opportunity to build a whole new industry and use its development to spur other positive changes, such as growth in our clean-energy sector.  British Columbia’s Natural Gas Strategy builds on the foundation of the BC Jobs Plan to create long-term economic prosperity.

The BC Jobs Plan was introduced in 2011 and is more inclusive and expansive than plans previously done. In the BC Jobs Plan, the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Responsible for Housing set tangible targets such as a date when liquefied natural gas will be operational. In this BC Jobs Plan the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Responsible for Housing is working on three main pillars: enabling job creation; strengthening our infrastructure to get goods to market; and taking major steps to expand and open new markets, especially in the Asia-Pacific and India, where middle-class populations are booming.

The ministry’s goal in the BC Jobs Plan is to have one LNG plant up and running by 2015 and a total of three plants operating by 2020. By exporting LNG, world-wide emissions will be lowered as B.C.’s natural gas increasingly displaces the use of other carbon intensive fuels such as coal and diesel.

TransCanada

TransCanada owns and operates pipelines, gas storage facilities and power plants considered among the most technologically-advanced in the industry, and is the third largest natural gas storage provider in North America with approximately 380 billion cubic feet of storage capacity. 

TransCanada Corporation has been selected by Shell Canada Limited and its partners to design, build own and operate the proposed Coastal GasLink project, an estimated four billion dollar pipeline that will transport natural gas from the Montney gas-producing region near Dawson Creek to the recently-announced LNG Canada liquefied natural gas export facility near Kitimat.

Pacific Trail Pipelines

Pacific Trail Pipelines, a partnership between managing operator Apache with forty per cent of the project, and EOG and Encana holding the remaining thirty per cent each, is developing the natural gas transmission pipeline system from Summit Lake to Kitimat, British Columbia, to serve Kitimat LNG Inc.'s export terminal near Kitimat, B.C.

The proposed project consists of a looping of the existing Pacific Natural Gas pipeline between Kitimat and Summit Lake to increase capacity and operate a bi-directional pipeline system. The new loop will deliver natural gas from east to west, transporting natural gas from the Spectra pipeline system to Kitimat LNG liquefaction terminal while providing for pipeline system flow to be bi-directional.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2012 pending a final investment decision to proceed with the project and obtaining required regulatory approvals. Right-of-way clearing is proposed to begin in summer 2012, and the pipeline is proposed to be fully operational in 2015.

Pacific Northern Gas

Pacific Northern Gas supplies gas to approximately 40,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers.  At year-end 2007, PNG’s Western system served approximately 22,000 customers.  The Western system has three large industrial customers: West Fraser Mills Ltd., Rio Tinto Alcan and B.C. Hydro.  In 2007, these three customers accounted for approximately twenty-nine percent of total gas deliveries and six percent of operating revenues.

The Western system transmission pipeline connects with the Spectra Energy pipeline system near Summit Lake, British Columbia and extends 587 kilometers to the west coast of British Columbia at Prince Rupert. The pipeline between Summit Lake and Terrace has been partially paralleled, or looped, with a second line to increase throughput capacity. PNG also owns and operates over 300 kilometers of lateral transmission pipelines extending into the various communities served by PNG, the most significant being dual lines extending approximately fifty-seven kilometers into Kitimat.

Pacific Northern Gas owns and operates natural gas distribution facilities to deliver gas from its pipeline system to homes and businesses in the various communities located throughout the Western system service area.  Pacific Northern Gas’ Western system’s distribution system is comprised of approximately 1,180 kilometers of distribution pipelines.

Pacific Northern Gas currently has exclusive franchise agreements with the municipalities of Prince Rupert, Port Edward, Kitimat, Terrace, Smithers, Burns Lake, Houston and Vanderhoof, entitling it to distribute natural gas within those municipalities. Pacific Northern Gas also has an operating agreement with Telkwa that entitles it to install and operate gas distribution facilities in that community.

Enbridge

Enbridge is proposing the Northern Gateway Pipelines system. This project includes two 1177 kilometer long pipelines:  one pipeline will transport 525,000 barrels of petroleum from Edmonton to Kitimat every day, and the other will transport 193,000 barrels of condensate from Kitimat to Edmonton.  The project is estimated to be completed by 2017.

Golar LNG

Golar LNG, an independent LNG company, based out of Bermuda, recently acquired a minimum twenty-five per cent stake of BCLNG’s Douglas Channel project. Golar LNG’s involvement will also be responsible for providing further equity as the project grows through it’s developmental and implementation stages. The Douglas Channel project now involves the partnership between Golar LNG, Haisla and LNG Partners, of Houston Texas.

The proposed project consists of utilizing Golar LNG’s fleet of LNG tankers at the Douglas Channel site, where it will focus on producing 600,000 to 700,000 metric tonnes per year via a liquefaction barge. A final investment decision to proceed with the project is projected for the third quarter of 2013. 

Pipeline News North

Pipeline News North offers a free, full colour, monthly print edition focused on the Oil & Gas Industry. Their website features a full digital edition of our paper, upcoming stories of interest and up to date articles in the news.

Covering a variety of topics, Pipeline News North concentrates on all progressive aspects of the oil and gas industry in northern B.C. and northwest Alberta, from heavy oil to unconventional shale gas, and its associated service industries.