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Enbridge, Terasen roll with oil sands plans Canadian pipeline companies lay out competing plans for lines to take oil sands shipments to British Columbia coast Gary Park Petroleum News Canadian Correspondent
Enbridge and Terasen, Canada’s second and third largest energy pipeline companies, are on the move with their competing plans to gear up for a surge in oil sands shipments from Alberta to the British Columbia coast.
In preparation for a possible regulatory filing, Enbridge has embarked on field studies for its planned C$450 million Gateway system, while Terasen is seeking National Energy Board permission to take a small first step on its way to a possible major undertaking.
Gateway Pipeline President Art Meyer said Enbridge is moving beyond engineering and environmental assessments to field work and expanded external discussions as it tries to determine the best route for the 400,000 barrel per day pipeline.
The project would consist of a 30-inch crude line from Edmonton to a deepwater port at Prince Rupert or Kitimat on the northern British Columbia coast. Majority could go to Asia Depending on the outcome of a joint effort with PetroChina to secure 200,000 bpd for the 720-mile pipeline, 75 to 80 percent of the volumes could end up in Asia, with the balance being shipped to California.
Enbridge has also discussed with Gateway’s potential users the possibility of importing 150,000 bpd of condensate to dilute crude from the oil sands region, allowing it to flow more easily.
Condensate is in such demand that it has been selling in Alberta this year for up to C$50 per barrel. Canada’s domestic production has climbed 8.9 percent since 2002, reaching 2.5 million bpd in 2004.
In addition to the projected C$2.5 billion cost of the main pipeline, Gateway requires a marine tanker terminal and related facilities along the route.
Provided the pieces come together, Enbridge hopes to submit an application to the National Energy Board in 2006 to start construction in 2008 and shipments in 2010. Terasen plans to boost capacity Meanwhile, Terasen, backed by its existing shippers and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, has filed with the NEB to boost capacity of its Trans Mountain pipeline system to 260,000 bpd from 225,000 bpd.
It hopes to introduce the new capacity in the first quarter of 2007 at a cost of C$210 million.
New pumps stations would be installed along the system, laying the groundwork for a C$356 million “anchor loop” as part of a larger expansion costing up to C$2.8 billion that could see Trans Mountain twinned or, if markets open up in Asia, a new pipeline built to the Prince Rupert-Kitimat area.
“West Coast and offshore markets are increasingly important to producers as Canada’s oil sands develops and production grows,” said Terasen President Rich Ballantyne.
“Our expansion plans contemplate staged growth in export pipeline capacity to meet corresponding growth in oil sands production.”
Terasen already operates a 2,700-mile pipeline network that carries 680,000 bpd of petroleum products to markets in western North America.
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