A huge expansion to the Pacific Northern Gas pipeline has been proposed.
The current PNG pipe starts in Summit Lake, just north of Prince George, where it ties into the Spectra Energy pipeline bringing natural gas south from the refineries in the Peace region of the province. From there it goes west to its coastal terminus in Kitimat.
The proposed new pipe would follow the exact route for 80 per cent of the way, deviating only for geotechnical safety issues between Telkwa and Terrace. The proposed route is about 525 km long.
The project's description has been filed with the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office, so all discussions are preliminary, said PNG president Greg Weeres. Should all go as planned by the company, the new pipeline would begin operation in late 2016 or early 2017.
"We installed the original facilities in 1968," said Weeres, who was once a resident of Prince George before his ascent to PNG's executive office. "We have been approached by a number of customers to supply additional natural gas, but all the product in our system is spoken for, so we needed to expand our system."
The current pipe is 10 to 12 inches in diameter. The new one will be 24 inches across.
There are several liquid natural gas pipeline proposals - both coastal terminals and pipelines - for northern B.C. already in various stages of development. Weeres was not prepared to disclose which terminal companies were interested in buying natural gas from them but did say they were "micro-scale players" compared to the proposed Chevron facility in Kitimat - the largest natural gas project on the west coast.
Due to B.C. Utilities Commission regulations, said Weeres, customers of PNG (there are none in Prince George but many consumers along the Highway 16 corridor the current pipeline follows) will receive a reduced rate if the expansion is approved.
Another clear benefit, he said, are the municipalities and regional districts through which the pipeline flows. They will receive larger tax income from the company.
Also in line to benefit are the local tradespeople, merchants and service providers that take part in major construction activity. While he said "new hiring will be minimal for the operations side" of PNG, due to the already existing facilities they already run, he predicted about 2,000 person-years of work would be available on the construction of the new line, plus all the investment in the region's supply chain.
Although the new pipe would only add about 12 metres of width to the already active PNG pipeline right-of-way (it is about 18 metres wide now), Weeres said the environmental assessment process was not lessened, nor was their duty to consult the public and obtain the support of affected First Nations.
"As you might expect, because we've been in operation in the same area for many years, we have a lot of relationships already well established," he said. "Nonethless we continue to open new discussions about this project with the First Nations in that area."
The current estimated cost of the PNG project is estimated to be between $1.3billion and $1.5billion. Approximately 40 per cent is estimated to be labour, and 60 per cent goods and services.
