Spectra Energy Corp. (NYSE: SE) is partnering with Britain's BG Group on a multibillion-dollar natural gas pipeline and liquid natural gas (LNG) plant in Prince Rupert.
It's the fourth LNG plant proposal for B.C. but the first for Prince Rupert. Three other plants are all to be built in Kitimat.
Petronas, a Malaysian state-owned oil and gas company, has also partnered with BG Group and is considering Prince Rupert for an LNG plant, but that plan is still at a feasibility stage.
"Petronas is also looking at a site, but BG is out of the gates," said Doug Bloom, president of Spectra Energy Transmission West.
BG Group spokesman David Byford said the company chose Ridley Island in Prince Rupert as a potential site for a two-train LNG plant over Kitimat because it is close to Asian markets and has good road and rail access.
"It's got a great port infrastructure," Bloom said. "Some companies seem to like the features at Kitimat and others seem to like the features at Prince Rupert, and BG is among those."
A new 850-kilometre pipeline from the natural gas fields in northeastern B.C. to Prince Rupert would cost $6 billion to $8 billion to build, with Spectra and BG Group sharing the costs 50-50. That doesn't include the cost of a new LNG plant.
Byford would not say how much the LNG plant would cost. However, other two-train LNG plant proposals in Canada and elsewhere have been estimated to cost anywhere from $8 billion to $12 billion. An LNG train is a complete processing unit, so a two-train unit is simply a doubling of the processing capacity.
A corridor has been identified, but the actual route the pipeline would take will depend largely on environmental concerns and ongoing discussions with communities in the pipeline corridor, including First Nations.
Bloom said the company would try as much as possible to use routes through areas that have already been "disturbed" by other activities such as logging.
The pipeline and LNG plant are not expected to be built until near the end of the decade. The company has launched a website, www.energyforbc.ca, that allows the public to track the proposal.
Bloom said the pipeline project alone would create about 4,000 construction jobs and 50 to 60 permanent jobs.
Headquartered in Houston, Spectra operates gas pipelines throughout Canada and the U.S.. It recently completed a $1.5 billion investment in B.C., which included a new natural gas processing plant near Dawson Creek. •
