September 3, 2010

TransCanada begins construction on Alberta-British Columbia pipeline

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

VANCOUVER

TransCanada Pipeline Ltd. has started construction on the first pipeline to cross the Alberta-B.C. border. It will connect natural gas supplies in the Montney shale gas formation in northeast B.C. to the Alberta System.

“This is the first pipeline we have built into northern British Columbia under NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL),” said TransCanada project manager Sandeep Mann.

“We looked at our existing facilities in Alberta and tried to minimize the amount of pipeline needed to connect to the network. We are optimizing the location in terms of capacity.”

NGTL, a TransCanada subsidiary, began construction on the Groundbirch pipeline project on Aug. 6.

The project involves the construction of about 77 kilometres of 36-inch diameter natural gas pipeline, from a new connection on the Gordondale lateral, near the existing Gordondale meter station on the Alberta System.

It is about 11 kilometres east of Bay Tree, Alta., and will go to a meter station in the Groundbirch area in northeast B.C., about 37 km northwest of Dawson Creek.

The pipeline will cover 18.5 km in Alberta and 58.5 km in B.C. It will extend the existing TransCanada Alberta System to connect to sweet natural gas in B.C.

Mann said TransCanada doesn’t anticipate any major challenges to construction in Alberta because the pipeline is being built on farmland.

“In B.C., we have two major horizontal directional drills,” said Mann.

“This represents a challenge in the sense that these are our largest activities for construction hours.”

To get the pipeline across the Pouce Coupe River, a 1.4- kilometre-long hole will be drilled in about two months.

The Kiskatinaw River will be crossed by drilling a 700-metre-long hole, an operation that will take about one month.

The drilling rig begins by boring a 12-inch pilot hole and then the diameter of the hole is increased gradually. The final hole must be drilled to a diameter of 54 inches to pull a 36-inch pipeline.

North American Construction Group is the prime contractor on the $200 million project.

The four meter stations on the project are being built by Resolute Oilfield Contracting Ltd.

During the peak construction period, North American Construction will have about 285 workers on the project, while TransCanada will have 50 to 60 workers.

The project is scheduled for completion by November 2012.

The National Energy Board (NEB) approved TransCanada’s application for federal regulation of its Alberta System last year. The system was previously regulated by the Alberta Utilities Commission.

Under federal regulation, TransCanada could apply to the NEB for approval to extend the Alberta System across provincial borders, allowing the company to provide service to producers outside of Alberta.

NOVA must meet 30 conditions outlined by the NEB before it can be granted permission to begin operation of the pipeline.

These include conditions regarding pipeline integrity, protection of the environment and public, and aboriginal consultation.

NOVA consulted with Duncan’s First Nation and Horse Lake First Nation concerning detailed route alignment and the potential impact of the pipeline on traditional land uses.

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