Page 8 - NorthAmOil Week 30

NorthAmOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT NorthAmOil
NEB leaves Coastal GasLink to BC
BRITISH COLUMBIA
CANADA’S National Energy Board (NEB) has found that the Coastal GasLink pipeline does not fall within federal jurisdiction. e pipeline will transport gas to the LNG Canada project in British Columbia.
e Coastal GasLink does not come under the NEB’s remit, it said on July 26, and does not form part of the NOVA Gas Transmission sys- tem. e province of BC, and the BC Oil and Gas Commission, are the correct authorities to consider the project, the NEB said.
An environmental activist, Michael Sawyer, had submitted a document in July 2018 request- ing NEB oversight of the pipeline plan.
e NEB said it had held a hearing involv- ing 13 participants, with evidence led and var- ious arguments put forward. In particular, this focused on whether the Coastal GasLink was “part of a federal work or undertaking under paragraph 92(10) (a) of the Constitution Act, 1867”. The NOVA system is a gas gathering system in northeastern BC and Alberta and, as a result of its cross-province nature, is NEB regulated. Sawyer’s position was that because of a connection between Coastal GasLink and NOVA, the former should also fall under NEB’s jurisdiction.
e NEB decision was welcomed by Coastal GasLink, owned by TC Energy, previously TransCanada. A statement from the pipeline company noted its only purpose was to carry gas within the province and that it had been through a “rigorous multi-year review”. TC Energy said it intended to nd joint venture partners for the pipeline. e resolution of the NEB case should make such a matchmaking exercise easier.
In October 2018, TransCanada, as it was then, said it would go ahead with the construction of the CAD6.2bn ($4.7bn) link – a decision taken in parallel with the nal investment decision (FID) on LNG Canada. It is expected to be in service in 2023.
On a fundraising site, Sawyer made it clear that his bid to have jurisdiction on the pipeline allocated to the NEB would see the project can- celled and new applications made. e environ- mentalist also described the BC Environmental Assessment Act as “wholly inadequate”, with insu cient public scrutiny of the plan. Further- more, the BC government has “so much political capital invested in ensuring LNG goes ahead that I believe they are incapable of making fair and unbiased decisions about LNG that are in the public interest”.
e 48-inch (1,220-mm) Coastal GasLink will run for around 670km, from the Ground- birch area to the liquefaction site near Kitimat. Initial capacity of the link will be 2.1bn cubic feet
The province of BC, and the BC Oil and Gas Commission, are the correct authorities to consider the project, the NEB said.
(59mn cubic metres) per day of gas.
e pipeline will have an initial capacity of
approximately 2.1bn cf (59 mcm) per day, with the potential for expansion of up to approxi- mately 5bn cf (142 mcm) per day. Construc- tion activities began in December 2018, with a planned in-service date in 2023. e Coastal GasLink is backed by 25-year sales agreements with the ve LNG Canada participants.
TC Energy said it had signed project and community agreements with the 20 indigenous groups along the pipeline route. e company also said that the di erence between the esti- mated and nal cost would be recovered through future pipeline tari s.
TC Energy, on July 30, announced the sale of a number of power generation assets in Ontario. e company aims to sell CAD6.3bn ($4.79bn) of assets this year, in order to fund its “near-term capital programme and further strengthen its nancial position”.
Powering up
Given local environmental concerns, compa- nies have taken pains to stress their respect for the local area and also the broader issue of car- bon emissions. LNG Canada will receive power from BC Hydro and is providing CAD24mn ($18.3mn) in funds for the interconnection project, it was reported in mid-July. e total interconnection cost is CAD82mn (62.4mn), BC Local News said.
It went on to report that, should the Chev- ron-backed Kitimat LNG project go ahead, there would be a need for additional power lines.™
P8
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 30 01•August•2019