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LNG project pipeline approved
British Columbia’s Pacific NorthWest LNG project has advanced another notch, with regulatory approval of a 540-mile pipeline to deliver natural gas to the terminal planned for Prince Rupert.
TransCanada said it had received 11 permits for its C$6 billion Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project from the British Columbia Oil & Gas Commission.
They complete the final approval stage for a transportation system to carry 2 billion to 3.6 billion cubic feet per day through a single 48-inch diameter overland pipeline covering 400 miles from northeastern British Columbia to the Pacific Coast where two underwater lines are planned for the remaining distance.
The pipeline has earlier obtained a go-ahead from the British Columbia government following an environmental assessment.
Terminal approval, sanction needed But that project hinges on an LNG terminal by the Petronas-led consortium being approved by the Canadian government and a final corporate sanctioning for an entire project that carries a price tag of C$36 billion.
“Receiving the full complement of 11 pipelines and facility permits is a major milestone for the project and concludes an exhaustive regulatory process that we embarked on more than two years ago,” said Prince Rupert Gas Transmission President Tony Palmer.
He said attention now turns to building on the list of eight deals with First Nations.
But a group within the Gitxsan Nation said it still plans to mount of legal challenge to the environmental approval, while others oppose the use of Lelu Island near Prince Rupert to build a liquefaction plant and tanker terminal.
The Lax Kw’alaams community has already rejected a C$1.15 billion benefits package from Petronas.
- GARY PARK
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