TransCanada Sets New Alberta Expansion Plan
Nova Gas Transmission Limited (NGTL), a unit of TransCanada, filed a project description with Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) on February 27 for its 2021 NGTL System Expansion Project.
The project is comprised mainly of 350 km of new pipeline loops in the Grande Prairie West, Grande Prairie South and Edson South areas of northwestern and west-central Alberta and between 30 MW and 40 MW of new compression capacity at three existing compressor stations at Nordegg, Didsbury and Beiseker, in the Edson South area. The facilities are intended to help gas producers in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin get their gas to markets outside Alberta.
“The project is required to expand pipeline capacity to transport gas from areas of increasing natural gas production in the Peace River Project Area (PRPA) to intra-Alberta and export markets,” TransCanada says in the project description. “The growing natural gas production in the PRPA includes a shift of production from other areas on the NGTL System to the northwest portion of the NGTL system.”
The expansion project, TransCanada added, is underpinned by about 1.1bn ft3/day of East Gate FT-D (firm transportation-delivery) contracts, combined with continued growth in intra-basin demand. Cost of the project is estimated at about $2.4bn.
NGTL recently completed an open season for existing and export capacity at the Empress/McNeill Export Delivery Point that was oversubscribed, and shippers have executed binding agreements for 1bn ft3/day of expansion capacity for firm service that will commence in November 2020 and April 2021. As well, contracts have been executed for 620mn ft3/day of incremental firm receipt service beginning in April 21, connecting new supply in the Montney, Deep Basin and Duvernay plays and providing shippers access to various local and export markets.
TransCanada expects to file a formal application for the facilities in the second quarter this year, and hopes to have regulatory approval by 2Q 2020 to meet a proposed in-service date in 2Q 2021.