As Keystone XL has been shelved following President Joe Biden’s inauguration, that doesn’t mean other pipeline projects aren’t on the go, or that others won’t be completed. Some prominent Western Canada projects, Trans Mountain, Coastal GasLink, and Enbridge Line 3 are well underway. We give a rundown of them below with some updates on how the respective projects are coming along.
Trans Mountain
Originally built in 1953, the pipeline is still operating safely to this day. The expansion is currently a twinning of the existing 1,150 km pipeline between Strathcona County, Alta., to Burnaby, B.C, creating a pipeline system with the capacity going from approximately 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 barrels per day. Both hiring and project spending are expected to increase as the project quietly moves forward, roughly 22% being completed, and scheduled for service in 2022.
With the news of Keystone, this project takes on even more importance now for Canada and Alberta’s oil and gas sector, and becomes more valuable, as it would bring the opportunity of enabling shippers to move product to Asia and other markets.
Coastal GasLink
In 2018, B.C. Premier John Horgan announced provincial support, likening LNG Canada’s decision to build the $40 billion gas plant akin to the moon landing for the province. The Coastal GasLink project, approximately 670 km, will safely deliver natural gas across Northern B.C. After Coastal GasLink delivers the natural gas from Dawson Creek to a facility near Kitimat, it will then be prepared for export to global markets by converting the gas to a liquified state – LNG. While COVID-19 has definitely played its role in the project, limiting work to some effect, in a recent project update, the company states ¼ of construction is complete.
Enbridge Line 3 Replacement
Construction of the $5.3 billion Canadian portion of the replacement program is complete, as Line 3 began commercial service in 2019. As of September 2020, reclamation is complete along the 1,070 km Canadian pipeline right-of-way. Starting in Alberta, the pipeline touches a corner of North Dakota before venturing into Minnesota en route to Enbridge’s terminal in Superior, Wis. Enbridge still awaits final permitting before construction can begin in Minnesota, as the company has stated it continues to move forward despite protests of the project, with people even calling for President Biden to cancel Line 3’s permits.