24
VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 DIST: 16,000 SERVING THE OIL & GAS INDUSTRY IN NORTHERN B.C. AND ALBERTA PIPELINENEWSNORTH.CA FREE! JUNE / JULY 2016 Special Report: First Nations, industry work to rejuvenate the land / Page 7 R001697746 BLUE TRAIL PHOTOGRAPHY Frustration grows as feds signal decision on Pacific NorthWest LNG won’t be made until fall AltaGas signs major export deal with Japanese company for liquefied propane gas Maryon: Gasoline supply issues force Petro-Canada to issue rare declaration City mayors push for new Encana gas plant, but residents argue against its location

Pipeline News North June 2016

Embed Size (px)

DESCRIPTION

Fort St, John BC Glacier Media Inc.

Citation preview

Page 1: Pipeline News North June 2016

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 DIST: 16,000 SERVING THE OIL & GAS INDUSTRY IN NORTHERN B.C. AND ALBERTA

PIPELINENEWSNORTH.CA

PIPELINE NEWS NORTHFREE!

JUNE / JULY 2016

Special Report: First Nations, industry work to rejuvenate the land / Page 7

R001697746

BLUE TRAIL PHOTOGRAPHY

Frustration grows as feds signal decision on Pacific NorthWest LNG won’t be made until fallAltaGas signs major export deal with Japanese company for liquefied propane gas

Maryon: Gasoline supply issues force Petro-Canada to issue rare declarationCity mayors push for new Encana gas plant, but residents argue against its location

Page 2: Pipeline News North June 2016

R003152861

SAVE THE DATES

Trap ShootJuly 8-9, 2016ENTRY FEE $150.00 ~ TEAMS MUST HAVE 5 SHOOTERS• Friday Practice Round 4:00-8:00 p.m.• Shoot Date July 9, 2015• Friday Evening BBQ Dinner• 6 Classes in Singles, 6 Sliders & 3 Handicap• Fun Shoots, Long Shot Event• Camping Facilities Available at North Peace Rod & Gun Club

Family Campout Weekend

August 12 - August 14, 2016

FSJ Curling Club

FORT ST. JOHN PETROLEUM

ASSOCIATION

FSJ Curling Club FSJ Curling Club November 16 - November 19, 2016

Oilmen’s Curling Bonspiel

2 • PIPELINE NEWS NORTH JUNE 17, 2016

Page 3: Pipeline News North June 2016

NUMBERS

JUNE 17, 2016 PIPELINE NEWS NORTH • 3

www.roynorthern.com

LANDENVIRONMENTALARCHAEOLOGY

UAV/REMOTE SENSINGGIS

Terrace FairviewFort St John CalgaryPhone: 1.888.835.6682

SINCE 1980

The following figures were taken from the stories in this issue of Pipeline News North.

PNN4,500: Number of kilometres driven by the

LNG or BUST roadtrip to Ottawa. Column on Page 5.

10.8%: Inrease in natural gas shipment vol-umes so far this year, according to BC Stats.

Story on Page 6.

41: Number of kilometres TransCanada is seeking to reroute on its Coastal GasLink

pipeline. Story on Page 12.

230: Number of kilometres of pipeline under NOVA Gas Transmission’s proposed

system expansion. Story on Page 13.

600,000: Tonnes of liquefied propane gas Astomos Energy Corp. has signed on to buy

from AltaGas through its Ridley terminal.More on Page 14.

5: Number of Peace Region oil and gas projects exempt by the Supreme Court from

reapplying for an environmental review process. Story on Page 17.

12: Number of Blueberry River students set to start field operations training.

Story on Page 18.

Sept. 15: Earliest date for a federal decision on Pacific NorthWest LNG.

Story on Page 21.

46.9 acres: Plot of land on which Encana is seeking to build a natural gas plant to pro-

cess liquids. Story on Page 22.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DARCY FRIESEN

Marcus Juister of Ditsmarsia Holdings Ltd. accepts a team picture from NEBC Midget Tracker Hockey team member Andrew Travis for outstanding contributions to the hockey club during the 2015-2016 season. ”The Juister family and Ditsmarsia Holdings Ltd. demonstrate community sponsorship that is unparalleled “ Travis said.

Page 4: Pipeline News North June 2016

Published monthly by Glacier Ventures International Corp.Pipeline News North is politically independent and a member of the B.C. Press Council. The Pipeline News North retains sole copyright of advertising, news stories and photography produced by staff. Reproduction is prohibited without written consent of the editor.

4 • PIPELINE NEWS NORTH JUNE 17, 2016

PNN Maryon: Petro-Canada

issues rare declaration

Yu: LNG message to Ottawa delivered

International Energy Agency expects PacificNW LNG delay

First Nations, industry

rejuvenate land

Emissions in the spotlight: how does BC LNG measure?

Another Coastal GasLink reroute considered

NEB recommends NOVA Gas approval

NEB seeks public input on

Northern Gateway extension

Look for PNN on FB: pipelinenewsnorth

5

5

6

7

10

12

13

13

10

18

14

15

17

17

18

21

22

AltaGas making progress on propane export project Improving safety when digging underground Oil and gas projects exempt from Supreme Court ruling

OGC beefs up earthquake monitoring regulations Training puts Blueberry River residents to work

Zimmer blasts feds for ‘dithering’ on PNW LNG

City mayors push for Encana gas plant

Look for PNN on Twitter: @ PipelineNN

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALAN YU

Alan Yu of Fort St. John for LNG was in Ottawa earlier this month to testify before the Standing Committee on Natural Resources. The committee is currently studying economic opportunities and innovation for the future of Canada’s oil, gas, mining and nuclear sectors. Yu provides an update about his experience in his column on page 5.

05

Page 5: Pipeline News North June 2016

#oilsands OPENING REMARKSJUNE 17, 2016 PIPELINE NEWS NORTH • 5

Recently you may have pulled up to a gas station in many parts of Alberta or B.C. only to

find they had no gasoline to sell you. While not unheard of, it is still rare

for an oil company to have to turn customers away. So what happened?

In early June a “perfect storm” of events caused Petro-Canada to essentially run out of gasoline.

As a result of this, the company invoked the rarely-used force majeure clause with some of its customers.

Force majeure means superior force or chance occurrence and is used in contracts to free a company from liability in certain extreme circumstances. It is usually used only when an extraordinary event such as a war, strike or act of God occurs.

The wildfires in Fort McMurray

caused many producers of synthetic crude oil to curtail production drastically, significantly reducing the supply available to both Petro-Canada’s, and to Shell’s Edmonton refineries.

The supply of diesel and gasoline was already tighter than normal due to the planned maintenance shutdown of Imperial Oil’s Edmonton refinery. With this shutdown in mind, Imperial had built inventories and made plans to keep its customers well supplied. Imperial’s shutdown—although planned—contributed to the tight supply situation.

To compound things, Petro-Canada had an operating issue that unexpectedly shut down a unit at its Edmonton refinery—significantly restricting its production of gas and diesel.

Normally in a situation like this Petro-Canada would ask for and receive support from the other Edmonton refiners to keep their customers supplied with fuel. However, because supply was already very tight, there were no spare barrels—especially of gasoline—available.

This put Petro-Canada in a very unpleasant position. Very quickly many of their facilities in western Canada quite literally ran out of gas.

That is when Petro-Canada chose to invoke the force majeure clause in their supply agreements with some of their major customers.

Suppliers are usually loath to invoke these clauses and only declare them as a last resort as the reputation damage that goes along with the message can last for years.

Customers expect their suppliers to operate their businesses in ways that can withstand supply disruptions.

At the time of writing of this column, retail gasoline prices were rising quickly as operators sought to recover additional supply costs for having to truck and rail product into markets that were short of fuel.

These events remind us again of the complexity—and fragility—of the supply system on which we all rely on for our fuel requirements and how quickly changes in supply and demand can drive selling prices in the market.

Tim Maryon is vice-president of sales and business development at Peace Country Petroleum in Fort St. John.

Gasoline supply issues trigger rare declaration from Petro-Canada

OIL MATTERS

Tim Maryon

Initially, I felt honored to be in-vited to testify at the Standing Committee on Natural Resour-

ces. After all, the purpose of our 4,500-kilometre LNG or BUST road trip to Ottawa was to inform the fed-eral government of the job market situation in Fort St. John. I decided to extend my stay to testify.

The study of the committee is “The Future of Canada’s Oil and Gas, Min-ing and Nuclear Sectors: Innovation, Sustainable Solutions and Economic Opportunities.” I had the naïve no-tion that I would be asked for my two cents worth on oil and gas. By the first question on how an immigrant of only two years would come across the wealth of information in my opening statement, I felt uneasy and I knew then that it was not just going to be about oil and gas. As Conservative MP Brad Trost, a member of the com-mittee, put it, the committee tried and failed to paint me into a corner.

I opened my testimony about how I have come to love my new home-town Fort St. John and my new coun-try Canada. I felt so blessed last July 2015 when everyone in my family had

a job. Even my 13-year-old son then was making more than a dollar above minimum wage. My 13-year-old was making about the daily minimum wage in the Philippines working just one hour in Fort St. John.

My main message was how Fort St. John transformed to having an almost statistically insignificant un-employment rate to having the high-est unemployment rate in B.C. in just a matter of seven months. I told them my story of how easily I found a high-paying job and lost that job due to slow economic activity on Jan. 27. The solution to this job market condi-tion is to approve as soon as possible Pacific NorthWest LNG and other li-quefied natural gas plants to start an LNG industry in Canada.

I stressed that delays, such as what happened last March 22 wherein the CEAA extended its decision-making timeframe, has human cost in Fort St. John. Since then, real people have lost more jobs, businesses, homes. Progress Energy has pulled out a job-creating $5-billion in spending in the north because of this delay.

I also gave my two cents worth on

oil and gas.1. I would like to see our Canadian

natural resources get to market. Three proposals would help in this regard: Pacific NorthWest LNG, the Energy East pipeline, and the Trans Mountain/Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion.

2. I want the government to help defend these projects and make these happen for the sake of Canadian jobs and the economy. Any less will take away jobs from Canadians and re-duce our national economy.

3. I want the government to review the Paris Accord agreement, taking into consideration a recent govern-ment-funded study that says, “short of an economic collapse, it is difficult to see how Canada can realistically meet its Paris commitments in the 14 years remaining without rethinking its plans for oil and gas development.” It also says “if Ottawa approves only one large LNG terminal in B.C. and if Alberta sticks to its plan of capping provincial emissions at 100 mega-tonnes a year, emissions from the rest of the economy will have to shrink by 47 per cent to meet Canada’s green-

house gas commitments under the Paris climate accord.”

The government should acknow-ledge that economic progress and the use of fossil fuel go hand in hand. We can’t meet the Paris Accord unless the economy takes a drastic hit.

4. I want the government to con-sider the global solution to green-house gas emmissions are not just Canadian solutions. Canada only produces 1.7 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gases. China produces 23 per cent. One project the size of Pacif-ic NorthWest or LNG Canada ship-ping B.C. LNG into Asia for power generation will displace coal-fired power and GHG emissions offsetting all of B.C.’s annual GHG emissions, plus about 10 per cent of Canada’s.

We did it Fort St. John. We delivered our message and the trip was well worth it.

I will extend the LNG or BUST road trip alone to Halifax wherein we hope to convince the proposed Bear Head LNG plant in Halifax to use Canadian natural gas.

Alan Yu is a Fort St. John resident and founder of FSJ for LNG.

LNG message to Ottawa signed, sealed and delivered

FSJ FOR LNG

Alan Yu

Force majeure:

Page 6: Pipeline News North June 2016

WILLIAM JULIANREGIONAL [email protected]

RYAN WALLACEADVERTISING MANAGER250-785-5631C: [email protected]

PNN

CONTACT USPhone (250) 785-5631 Fax (250) 785-3522

www.pipelinenewsnorth.ca

BILLING:Lisa Smith - Accounting Manager

250-562-2441 ext 352 Fax:250-960-2762

accounting@ pipelinenewsnorth.ca

ROB MONAHAN SALES ASSOCIATE

250-785-5631C: [email protected]

MATT PREPROSTMANAGING EDITOR

250-785-5631C: 250-271-0724

[email protected]

MISSION STATEMENTOur mission at Pipeline News North is to provide

the most current, interesting, and relevant news and information about the oil and gas industry in Northeast B.C. and Northwest Alberta. Have an interesting story to share or a news lead? Email us at [email protected].

6 • PIPELINE NEWS NORTH JUNE 17, 2016

JONNY [email protected]

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is expecting further delay of Pacific NorthWest LNG—one of several bleak pieces of news in the agency’s latest forecast of the natural gas market.

The agency’s 2016 Medium-Term Market Re-port, released earlier this month, finds that low natural gas prices have failed to push demand upward, and flags declining demand in China, Japan and Korea as “headwinds” for the indus-try going forward.

“Slower primary energy demand growth and the decline in the energy intensity of the world economy are lessening demand growth for all fossil fuels, including gas,” the report states.

An energy “transformation” in China, coupled with “subdued” economic growth in advanced economies “are creating headwinds against energy demand in general,” the agency found. “Low fossil fuel prices have so far failed to compensate for them.”

The report is a sobering one for B.C.’s nas-cent liquefied natural gas industry, which has yet to see a positive final investment decision on any of the 20 proposed projects on the prov-ince’s coast.

In the four years prior to 2015, 35 billion cubic metres of LNG capacity was brought online, the IEA notes. That investment saw a “marked” slowdown as the market became over supplied in 2015.

That’s bad news for Petronas-led Pacific NorthWest LNG, which looks unlikely to take a

final investment decision (FID) any time soon, the agency says. The project has also faced additional scrutiny in federal environmental permitting, with a federal decision not ex-pected until September.

“Many other planned projects, originally in-tended to take FID in 2015, were pushed back amid falling prices and deteriorating market conditions,” the report states. “Pacific North-West LNG in Canada announced a conditional FID in mid-2015. However, FID has not been taken at the time of writing and the project seems likely to be delayed.”

There’s also grim news for Canadian produ-cers in the United States, Canada’s largest mar-ket for gas. LNG is increasingly seen as a means of shoring up B.C.’s natural gas industry at a time when U.S. producers are setting produc-tion records.

“With gas prices unlikely to fall much further from the very low level of 2015–and thus largely exhausting coal-to-gas switching potential–in-creases in gas-fired generation from 2015 levels will be limited to the need to replace some of the coal capacity that retires,” the report states.

“As a result, the IEA expects U.S. gas-fired generation to stagnate, with risks skewed to the downside.”

Expect delay on Pacific NorthWest LNG as energy demand slumps: IEA

B.C. energy exports tumble 16%, but natural gas sees gains: BC StatsJONNY [email protected]

B.C. is shipping more natural gas south of the border, but increased export volumes aren’t making up for stubbornly low prices. That was one of the trends in a BC Stats report on exports released June 3.

Overall, the value of B.C.’s energy exports tumbled 16 per cent over the first four months of 2016. The province saw an across the board increase in exports of one per cent over the same period last year, driven mostly by growth in shipments to the U.S., which saw 8.9 per cent growth.

Natural gas shipment volumes grew 10.8 per cent, pushing the overall value of natural gas exports up 1.6 per cent. Nearly all of that gas went to the U.S. as the province struggles to develop export facilities for liquefied natural

gas. Prices for the commodity remain low amid a glut in supply, which has led to a major down-turn in drilling and exploration activity in the province’s northeast.

Coal led the way in energy export losses, with export values falling 22.9 per cent. Total ship-ments of coal fell just 2.3 per cent, with the rest of the shortfall explained by low commodity prices.

Electricity exports also fell (8.3 per cent), along with exports of other energy products (25.8 per cent).

With the exception of India—where B.C. ex-ports saw gains of 35.5 per cent—demand was weak in much of the rest of Asia. Taiwan saw the biggest declines (22.2 per cent), followed by Hong Kong (15.2), South Korea (14.2), Japan (11) and Mainland China (3.1).

Shipments to the European Union and Mex-ico fell 8.3 and 72.7 per cent, respectively.

OUTLOOK

An energy transformation in China, coupled with subdued economic growth

in advanced economies are creating headwinds against energy demand in

general, the agency found.

Page 7: Pipeline News North June 2016

JUNE 17, 2016 PIPELINE NEWS NORTH • 7

R0011226042

MIKE [email protected]

The staff call them the “Cadillacs” of greenhouses.

These two, 200-foot long, 40-feet wide monstrosities on the grounds of the Twin Sisters Native Plant Nursery in Moberly Lake produce plants primarily for the purveyors of the natural gas industry, and others.

The business plan is simple: in-side the nursery you won’t find re-tail specials like flower baskets or tomatoes. Instead, this greenhouse grows and sells plants native to the Peace Region, so mining compan-ies, the oil and gas industry and Crown corporations can restore the lands disturbed by pipelines, dams and coal mines.

From wall to wall, Saskatoon ber-ries, willow bushes, pine trees, thim-ble berries, raspberries and a variety of grasses thrive.

“If you were Shell, you would come to us and we’d go out and do a site survey just to see what you’ve got before you scrape the ground,” said Vanessa Adams, the nursery’s head grower, during a recent tour of the facility.

“Then you get a seed lot with us and we go out and collect. Then, in a couple of years or so, we’ll put the plants we’ve grown here in the ground.”

The facility is one of the few na-tive plant nurseries in the province. It was funded completely to the tune of $1.4 million by Walter Energy Canada. The original budget was $30,000. It’s jointly run by the West Moberly and Saulteau First Nations.

It’s a year-round operation with the only down time coming dur-ing the darkest days of the winter solstice, when growing pants and heating the greenhouse becomes unfeasible.

On a recent tour, a simple, classic rock beat banged out from a stereo in the back, reverberating on the plastic walls as Delain Gauthier, a Saulteau First Nations member, was doing Darwin’s work: thinning out

the weak sprouts and placing only the strong, new growth in a new tray to mature.

In the back, Noreen Brown bobbed her head along with The Eagles’ “Heartache Tonight” as she picked weeds from a tray of plants.

There are five full-time employ-ees at the greenhouse, all full mem-bers of either the Saulteau and West Moberly First Nations. Younger members of the two nations are hired part-time during the planting season, which is usually in the fall.

LAND RECLAMATION BIG BUSINESS

In short, what Twin Sisters offers is full-service land reclamation.

Workers from the greenhouse will go evaluate a proposed pro-ject site, take seeds from the plants that are there and bring them back to their warehouse. If they can’t get enough seeds on site, a partner-ship with DLF Pickseed in Dawson Creek allows them to supplement their supply.

Seeds can be kept in cold stor-age until they’re needed. When projects are complete, for example a pipeline right of way, Twin Sisters staff will go out and plant.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

First Nations, industry work to rejuvenate the land

MIKE CARTER PHOTO

Noreen Brown weeds some of the maturing plants at the the Twin Sisters Native Plant Nursery in Moberly Lake.

Twin Sisters Nursery helping pipeline companies redevelop right-of-ways with plants native to the Peace Region

PROFILE

Page 8: Pipeline News North June 2016

8 • PIPELINE NEWS NORTH JUNE 17, 2016

PROFILE

MIKE CARTER PHOTO

Delain Gauthier works on thinning out starter trays, choosing only the strongest of the new growth to be placed in a new tray to mature

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

Land reclamation is big business. Compan-ies like Shell and Triton Energy Ltd. have already come on board, and discussions are underway with TransCanada.

BC Hydro is buying seed from Twin Sisters to stabilize the newly reshaped north and south banks of the Peace River as part of the Site C dam project.

Pattern Energy is making use of the nursery to replant vegetation around its wind turbine pro-jects, like the Meikle Wind Farm near Tumbler Ridge.

It’s becoming a popular alternative to spraying a generic mix of grass seed.

Adams says these mixes often result in an abundance of fescue and clover, plants that are like fast food to moose, deer and elk. They’re at-tracted to it, but it’s not very good for them, she says.

Fescue, for example, has been known to cause abortions in other ungulates like cows and horses.

“So we wonder if it does the same for moose, elk and deer,” she said, “since we are seeing de-clining populations of those ungulates.”

Replacing disturbed lands with naturally oc-curring plants is also the preferred method of First Nations that live along pipeline routes espe-cially. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s far better than what results from generic grass seed mixes.

In May, West Moberly elder George Dejarlais told a National Energy Board panel conducting hearings for TransCanada’s proposed Towerbirch pipeline expansion project, that reclaiming the land with native species can return it to a more natural state and allow for traditional land uses to continue, such as berry picking and the collec-tion of medicinal plants.

“We figure it’s a better idea to put back native species,” Adams said, “because what you get with those agronomic grass seed mixes (is) a mass of ungulates feeding there. Then you are going to get predators, and they can fly up and down right-of-ways like it’s their own personal highway.”

The nursery uses only one greenhouse right now, but Adams says that means there is poten-tial for expansion.

“We have the building,” she said. “We just need to finish the inside.”

As long as there are pipeline projects, the nurs-ery will thrive.

MIKE CARTER PHOTO

Vanessa Adams gives a tour of the greenhouse, explaining what they grow and where it will be used.

R001697755

Page 9: Pipeline News North June 2016

JUNE 17, 2016 PIPELINE NEWS NORTH • 9

THE BIGGEST THING WE MOVE IS TIME

At Mammoet, we provide solutions for lifting,

transporting, installing and decommissioning

large and heavy structures.

We could talk for hours about the equipment we use,

and about how sophisticated and powerful it is.

But all that power means nothing without a plan.

In fact, we believe our business isn’t about size.

It’s about: time.

Uptime. Turnaround time. Time to market.

To our customers, time is the currency that

matters most. That’s why we strive to bring their

deadlines forward.

It’s an integrated, daily effort shared by everyone

at Mammoet.

That’s how we move time for our customers.

So time isn’t set in concrete. Or forged in steel.

It’s not even all that heavy.

And yet, it’s the biggest thing we can move for you.

For more information please visit our Fort St. John

branch office at 9615 - 77 Avenue or contact us at

250-793-0060.

Discover more on www.mammoet.com

R0011237774

Page 10: Pipeline News North June 2016

10 • PIPELINE NEWS NORTH JUNE 17, 2016

JONNY [email protected]

The provincial government says B.C.’s lique-fied natural gas industry will be the cleanest in the world. Critics, on the other hand, say LNG is a cli-mate disaster waiting to happen.

The truth is likely somewhere in the middle.The four leading proposals to liquefy B.C. natural

gas for export to Asia vary widely in their green-house emissions, according to a Pipeline News North analysis.

The Trudeau government’s decision earlier this year to take upstream emissions into account for environmental assessments has dramatically al-tered the landscape for the roughly 20 LNG projects proposed for B.C.’s coast.

Of the top four proposals, one would burn its own gas during extraction and processing, mak-ing it one of Canada’s major greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters. Another will plug into the B.C. electricity grid (more than 90 per cent renewable energy), giv-ing it a relatively small carbon footprint. A third earned approval under the old system, while the fourth has yet to file with the federal government.

Pipeline News North gathered upstream and downstream emissions data on the four leading LNG projects, as ranked by the trade publication World Gas Intelligence earlier this year.

In March, that publication released an analysis claiming Woodfibre LNG has the best chance of actually being built, followed by Pacific NorthWest LNG, LNG Canada, WCC LNG.

WHAT ABOUT CHINA?

Proponents, including the B.C. government argue B.C. LNG has the best chance of displacing coal in emerging markets like China. But oppon-ents say there’s no guarantee that LNG won’t dis-place renewables.

While the federal government takes into ac-count emissions in Canada, officials say inter-national emissions aren’t taken into the equation, for example, the potential for LNG to replace coal.

Warren Brazier, an energy lawyer with the firm Watson Goepel, said it’s possible the federal gov-ernment will recognize that many of the leading LNG projects had the rules changed on them in the middle of the game.

That could lead to regulatory conditions around improving greenhouse gas emissions over the life of the project.

“The projects were planned under the last fed-eral government regime, which didn’t look at up-stream emissions and overall emissions of the projects,” he said. “Now their focus is on overall emissions.”

“It’s a delicate balance, because you want the investment but you also want them to be using the latest technology,” he said. “I think the federal government could say ‘yes, but we want you to im-prove your (emissions).’”

With emissions in the spotlight, how do B.C.’s leading LNG projects stack up?

ENVIRONMENT

Page 11: Pipeline News North June 2016

JUNE 17, 2016 PIPELINE NEWS NORTH • 11

WEAVERT H E A U C T I O N A D V A N T A G E

UNRESERVED AUCTIONSwww.weaverauctions.com

Page 12: Pipeline News North June 2016

12 • PIPELINE NEWS NORTH JUNE 17, 2016

JONNY [email protected]

TransCanada Corp. is considering a new route for a section of pipeline that would carry natural gas from Northeast B.C. to a LNG plant in Kiti-mat, following concerns about the existing right-of-way’s impact on First Nations cultural areas.

The company is applying to shift a 41-kilometre section of its proposed Coastal GasLink pipeline around 3.5 kilometres south of its currently pro-posed route, which runs through land Wet’suwet’en leaders identified as containing important cultural areas.

In an email newsletter, a TransCan-ada official said the project “has sev-eral examples like this” where the company has looked at alternate routes in response to First Nations feedback.

“We’ll decide on the final route when we have fully considered all options,” TransCanada Commun-ity Relations Lead Jaimie Harding wrote in an email. “This includes field

work, more detailed design work on construction planning, taking into account commercial, cultural and en-vironmental considerations, as well as cost and schedule.”

The pipeline is one of two that would supply natural gas for pro-posed LNG plants of B.C.’s coast. Coastal GasLink would supply Shell-backed LNG Canada in Kitimat, while

TransCanada’s Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line would service Pe-tronas’s Pacific NorthWest LNG facil-ity in Port Edward.

TransCanada said in the newsletter that it plans to conduct fieldwork on the proposed reroute between Burns Lake and Houston this summer. In October, the company announced it would study another reroute after

Wet’suwet’en leaders raised concerns about development in the watershed of the Morice River in Northwest B.C. Both routes await a decision from provincial regulators.

Crews on the pipeline have at times faced blockade by the Unist’ot’en, a subset of the Wet’suwet’en.

The Wet’suwet’en nation has its head office in Burns Lake.

Another reroute considered for Coastal GasLink

SUPPLIED PHOTO

A proposed reroute of the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which would carry gas from the South Peace to Shell’s LNG Canada proposal.

PIPELINES

Horizontal DirectionalDrilling and Punch Boring

American Augers DD110- Wire-line & Mud Motor capabilities with 14 000 lbs torque

American Augers DD6- A powerful rig with a smaller footprint

Horizontal Punch Boring- A fl uid-less alternative for environmentally sensitive crossings

Tridem Hydrovacs- Day lighting hotlines & drilling fl uid removal

Call or Email today for a free estimate 1-250-329-4324 or [email protected] | www.fullborehdd.ca

Page 13: Pipeline News North June 2016

JUNE 17, 2016 PIPELINE NEWS NORTH • 13

6674 Airport Road, Fort St. John 9919 - Terminal Road, Fort St. John

Toll Free: 1•888•464•2758

11507 - 100 Street, Grande Prairie

Toll Free: 1•877•959•8574

We Rent, Sell & Lease...ALL MAKES AND MODELS!

Locations coast-to-coast-to-coastLocations coast-to-coast-to-coastLocations coast-to-coast-to-coast

• Flat decks• Cube vans• Pick-ups• SUVs

On-line inventory at www.drivingforce.ca

Daily, weekly and monthly rates

• 4x4s• 7 & 15-passenger vans • Cargo vans

ALL MAKES AND MODELS!

• Flat decks• Cube vans• Pick-ups• SUVs

On-line inventory at www.drivingforce.ca

Daily, weekly and monthly rates

• 4x4s• 7 & 15-passenger vans • Cargo vans

ALL MAKES AND MODELS!

• Flat decks• Cube vans• Pick-ups• SUVs

On-line inventory at www.drivingforce.ca

Daily, weekly and monthly rates

• 4x4s• 7 & 15-passenger vans • Cargo vans

Dealer #30221Dealer #30221Dealer #30221

R0011162706

PIPELINES

MIKE [email protected]

The National Energy Board (NEB) is seeking public feedback on an application from Enbridge to extend environmental per-mits for the Northern Gateway Pipeline.

The company announced it would seek an extension on the permits May 6.

As it stands, the federal permits that allow for the project’s con-struction are set to expire Dec. 31 if work does not begin on the pipeline. The sunset clause was one of the 209 conditions the na-tional energy regulator put on the project when it was approved in 2014.

If the extension gets the go-ahead from the NEB, it will require additional approval from the fed-eral government.

The NEB will accept public comments until June 27 on its website.

The 1,177 kilometre pipeline would carry diluted bitumen from Alberta’s oilsands through north-ern B.C. to an export facility in Kitimat.

The project faces continued opposition from the B.C. govern-ment, environmental groups and First Nations.

When the project was approved, now-Prime Minister Justin Tru-deau promised to reverse the de-cision if elected, saying the project threatens B.C.’s coastal economy.

During his election campaign, Trudeau promised a morator-ium on crude oil tankers on B.C.’s north coast. But in recent months, Transportation Minister Marc Garneau said that isn’t neces-sarily a death knell for Northern Gateway.

NEB seeks public input on Northern Gateway extension

The National Energy Board is rec-ommending the federal cabinet ap-prove NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd.’s proposed system expansion.

The proposed expansion consists of approximately 230 kilometres of pipeline in five pipeline section loops, along with two compressor station unit additions in northern Alberta, mainly adjacent to existing sites.

The project would provide addi-tional capacity to meet the growing demand for natural gas in the oil-sands area of northern Alberta.

The source of supply would be the emerging shale plays in British Col-umbia and Alberta as well as addition-al tight conventional supply sources from the Deep Basin of Alberta.

In a 187-page report to Natural Re-sources Minister Jim Carr, the NEB said it is satisfied that the $1.29-bil-lion project is, and will be, required by the present and future public conven-ience and necessity.

The NEB panel has attached 36

conditions that would pertain to the operation of the project and another 12 dealing with the pre-construction and construction.

As the project crosses three ranges for the boreal woodland caribou, list-ed as threatened under the Species at Risk Act, the caribou is one area of concern for the panel. The report in-cludes five conditions specific to cari-bou and caribou habitat in regard to habitat restoration, offset measures, monitoring and reporting.

The cabinet is to issue a decision on the project on or before Nov. 1, 2016. The natural resources depart-ment also is inviting Canadians to comment on the project in an online questionnaire before Aug. 1, 2016. The department says the results will help inform the government’s decision.

If approved, construction of the facilities is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2016 with an in-ser-vice date of April 2017 or later.

—Daily Oil Bulletin

NEB recommends approval for NOVA Gas system expansion

Page 14: Pipeline News North June 2016

Follow the Leader.

Guts. Glory. Ram.

8424 Alaska Road Fort St John

250-787-5220 1-877-787-5220

www.fortcitychrysler.ca

FORT CITY

2015 RAM 1500 See Dealer for complete details.See Dealer for complete details.

$21,695starting atstarting at

This is the game we like to call “Follow the Leader”. Ram 1500 is powerful enough to tow 9,200 lbs and delivers up to

29 miles per gallon highway which is Best-in-Class. With more people driving

Ram Trucks more than ever before, we’ve built quite the following.

R001697748

14 • PIPELINE NEWS NORTH JUNE 17, 2016

AltaGas announces progress on propane export project

JONNY [email protected]

Weeks after bowing out of the LNG race on the B.C. coast, AltaGas Ltd. says it has reached a major milestone in its bid to export a different kind of gas.

On May 24, the energy company announced it had signed an export deal with Astomos Energy Corp., Japan’s largest buyer of liquefied propane gas (LPG). The company says the agreement is a milestone for its Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal, a $500 million facility that would export 1.2 million tonnes of propane a year to Japan and other Asian markets from Ridley Island.

Altagas has yet to settle on propane suppliers, but said the plant is a key “building block” in its plan to “build out” natural gas processing capacity in the Montney gas field in B.C. and Alberta. The gas would be transported to a previously developed “brownfield” site on Ridley Island by rail car.

“This opens a gateway to Asia for folks,” AltaGas VP Energy Exports Dan Woznow said in an interview.

Since the start of 2016, the company has walked away from two LNG pro-jects proposed for the B.C. coast. They include Douglas Channel LNG, a float-ing LNG scheme that was one of the smallest in contention, as well as the Triton LNG joint venture.

Like LNG, propane fetches a higher price in Asian markets, Woznow said.“It was surprising to see: 24 million homes in Japan use propane like we use

natural gas. It’s used in heating and cooking in Japan. Indonesia is converting to propane—they’ve been using kerosene on many of their islands—because propane is cleaner burning and doesn’t spill like kerosene does.

“It’s got a lot of uses and it seems to be a pretty stable and growing market.” According to Woznow, the Ridley Island proposal would be Canada’s first

propane export terminal. AltaGas currently operates a propane export facility in Ferndale, WA. The Ridley Island project still needs approvals from the feder-al government, the Port of Prince Rupert and local governments. The company hopes to make a final investment decision by the end of 2016.

Astomos has signed on for around half of the plant’s 1.2 million tonnes of annual capacity.

Page 15: Pipeline News North June 2016

BRONWYN [email protected]

A small town pipeliner is hoping to make it big with an invention he hopes will make excavation work safer and minimize the risk of damaging bur-ied foundations, pipelines and cables.

Fort St. John’s Will Collington, whose family has been in the oil and gas industry for decades, does hot line dig ups “all the time,” he told Pipe-line News North. He knows that there is always a chance that an incident will occur, even when ma-chinery operators have years of experience.

But Collington has discovered a way to reduce that risk: an attachment that fits onto an excavator and ensures the operator has a clear line of sight, allows only a prescribed amount of pressure to be applied while digging, and, thanks to a unique, rubber-like, polyurea coating, limits damage in the event the operator strikes a buried object.

“I’m always trying to fit a very large bucket in very tight spaces, so it made sense to me to have an attachment you can attach to the bottom of a hoe bucket, that you can swing around and get out of your way, so you can do your normal work, swing it back around again so you can poke in and around any facilities that you need to expose that are bur-ied under the ground,” explained Collington.

The prototype, which he’s patented, is com-prised of three segments: one attaches to the excavator bucket, another is made of a series of springs, and a third extends from the base of the bucket, and is used to prod and loosen clay, rock and other materials built in and around buried facilities.

Each attachment can apply a set amount of pres-sure before the spring hinge, the small centre seg-ment, moves the unit so that any excess pressure the operator might apply will not cause damage.

“Depending how much pressure you want-ed, you could either put the spring that has 300 pounds, or the spring that puts 800 pounds of pressure before it starts to move or hinge,” he said.

“Once you have a clear line of sight, you can

then start removing any of the material on top, and then on the sides, digging that away. This just gives you an extra little tool to use, a little pick to get in amongst some of the things that you are trying to expose. Some things are buried right next to each other, and you can get in between them with this.”

The concept has been building in his mind for the past five years, but early on, Collington pic-tured it serving a different purpose.

“Originally, when I had thought of this, I was thinking of ways to clean the tracks on equipment, because it’s really hard to clean the tracks when you’re in extremely muddy and dense clay. It gets in the tracks and it is very hard to get out,” he said.

“It takes like 45 minutes to an hour to shovel your tracks, and I believe with this thing you can

do the same in 20 minutes. It’s not going to fully clean the tracks for you, but it will loosen every-thing up and make it a lot easier, you’ll get the bulk of the material out, and then you’ve just got to polish them up, so it’ll shave your time down for cleaning tracks significantly. That’s why it was in my head in the first place.”

As this idea simmered, Collington was on job sites doing hot line dig ups, and on one occasion, a rock around a pipe let loose, and nearly struck it.

“We had shut it down, but I realized that there is a lot of potential for an incident, and with hot lines you want to eliminate all risk, and that’s very hard to do,” said Collington.

At another site, there were two hot lines locat-ed side by side, and when he tried to dig them up with the excavator, he couldn’t fit his bucket in between them.

“So there was a lot of hand digging, a lot of shovelling for the boys, a lot of back-breaking work. Then they’d get the material out and I’d have to take it back out of the hole (with the ex-cavator),” he explained.

Collington realized his track cleaning concept could have a much larger purpose.

He believes his attachment can, in some cases, cut the time it takes workers to expose buried facili-ties in half. It’ll also make job sites safer, as well as much easier on the workers who have to do manual labour where the excavator bucket can’t fit.

“It allows me to do everything I want it to do, and have a clear line of sight,” Collington said. “Because of the plastic coating and the way it holds together, it’s way safer.”

With a prototype he constructed himself, he put his idea to the test. Several revisions later, and he’s ready to go public, equipped with a demon-stration video and his patent, hoping to catch the attention of a big name company.

JUNE 17, 2016 PIPELINE NEWS NORTH • 15

Local hopes patented prototype will lead to safer digs

BRONWYN SCOTT PHOTO

Will Collington has patented a custom-built attachment for excavators to ensure operators have a clearer line of sight, allows only a prescribed amount of pressure to be applied while digging, and limits damage in the event the operator strikes a buried object.

OPERATIONS

SUPPLIED PHOTO

Collington’s prototype is comprised of three segments: one attaches to the excavator bucket, another is made of a series of springs, and a third extends from the base of the bucket, and is used to prod and loosen clay, rock and other materials built in and around buried facilities.

Page 16: Pipeline News North June 2016

16 • PIPELINE NEWS NORTH JUNE 17, 2016

R00

1126

3229

Page 17: Pipeline News North June 2016

JUNE 17, 2016 PIPELINE NEWS NORTH • 17

11115 - 100 AvenueGrande Prairie, AB T8V 3J9

Phone: 780-532-5900Fax: 780-532-5904

1.888.532.5900 | WWW.GPRINDUSTRIES.COM

Your Peace Region Dealer

WE KEEP INDUSTRY RUNNING!!

You want

to keep your engine runningefficiently and eff ectively...

competitive genuine Perkins Parts

... we are giving you just that

R00

1123

3523

OGC boosts earthquake monitoring

JONNY [email protected]

B.C.’s oil and gas regulator is stepping up monitoring of seismic activity after hydraulic fracturing triggered a series of small but high-profile earthquakes last year.

Starting June 1, the B.C. Oil and Gas Com-mission (OGC) will collect ground motion data from new wells in gas fields near Fort St. John and Dawson Creek, the regulator announced in an industry bulletin last week.

The new permit conditions require compan-ies to have “adequate monitoring” systems in place during hydraulic fracturing. In addition, companies will have to file a ground motion monitoring report within 30 days of complet-ing a fracture.

“This is the next step in mitigation meas-ures that started with earlier permit conditions in 2012, increased seismic monitoring in the northeast in 2013 and new regulations in 2015,” OGC spokesperson Alan Clay wrote in an email.

Fracking was deemed the cause of a 4.6-mag-

nitude earthquake north of Fort St. John last summer—the largest “induced seismicity” event on record in B.C.

The quake had its epicentre at a drilling site north of Wonowon, operated by Progress Energy, the largest drilling company in B.C. The company temporarily suspended operations during an investigation. Shaking could be felt as far away as Charlie Lake.

While the quake caused no damage, it raised debate about industry regulation as the prov-incial government pins its hopes to a liquefied natural gas industry.

Progress Energy is the upstream subsidiary of Petronas, the company behind the $11 billion Pacific NorthWest LNG export facility outside Prince Rupert. The company recently slashed its Northeast B.C. operations as it awaits a fed-eral decision on the facility.

More than 230 earthquakes were linked to fracking in an earlier Oil and Gas Commission study between August 2013 and November 2014, but only 11 could be felt at the surface.

MIKE [email protected]

Five Peace Region oil and gas projects that were approved through a streamlined environ-mental process that ran afoul of First Nations will not be forced to reapply after a court ruling against the Northern Gateway pipeline.

The B.C. Supreme Court chal-lenge of the controversial project stemmed from the B.C. govern-ment’s agreement with the Nation-al Energy Board to hold a single environmental assessment pro-cess instead of two parallel reviews by the National Energy Board and the B.C Environmental Assess-ment Office.

First Nations that were plain-tiffs in the case said the process breached the government’s duty to consult on resource projects in traditional territories.

Projects that were approved using this process include the Spectra South Peace Pipeline, Nova Gas Transmission’s Groundbirch Pipeline and Horn River Mainline extension, Spectra Energy’s Daw-son Gas plant and Fort Nelson North plant.

The B.C. government cabinet issued an order May 19 that paved way for these projects to be ex-empt from the new regulations that followed the January Supreme Court ruling.

The projects are either finished or currently under construction.

“Imposing a post-construction requirement on this group of pro-jects would neither be practical nor procedurally fair in these cir-cumstances,” the Ministry of En-vironment said in a statement.

Peace Region oil and gas projects exempt from Supreme Court ruling

4.6-magnitude quake last year north of Wonowon largest on record in B.C.

OPERATIONS

Page 18: Pipeline News North June 2016

18 • PIPELINE NEWS NORTH JUNE 17, 2016

ZOË [email protected]

Twelve Blueberry River First Nation members are set to start job placements in the last phase of their training to become field operators.

They’re the first participants in a pilot program launched by Black Swan Energy, and funded by in-dustry partners, to provide career training for First Nations while also filling the labour needs of the oil and gas industry.

During consultations between the band and the company, Chief Marvin Yahey said that opportun-ity for jobs that will last is what the community wants from industry.

Training field operators is something Black Swan already does regularly for its operations in Blue-berry River’s traditional territory. Opening up the training to Blueberry River members just made sense, the company says.

“We’re out there and we’re working within their traditional territory, and we know that,” said Mar-cel Zowtuk, Black Swan’s director of production operations. “So help-ing give meaningful ca-reers—it seemed like the honourable thing to do.”

Several other com-panies active in the Peace Region helped cover the cost of the program, which in-cluded a living allow-ance for the 12 students who had to leave jobs to attend the full-time training. Six companies have taken students for six-month placements, where they will receive further hands-on training. Upon completing their placements, the students will earn a college cer-tificate as field operators.

Funding partners included Unconventional Gas Resources, Painted Pony Petroleum Ltd., AltaGas, Saguaro Resources Ltd., Todd Energy Canada, Canbriam, ConocoPhillips, and Black Swan Energy.

The students will have their work placements at AltaGas, Black Swan, Conoco, Painted Pony, Saguaro, and Zedi.

An agreement has previously been in place for Blueberry River members to work in the energy sector, but until now, most of the jobs they got were for unskilled, temporary positions. Patsy Greyeyes, Blueberry River’s education manager, recalls one youth who quit his job.

“When I asked him why, he told me he was told to ‘just stand there’ at work. He was given no tasks and no training,” Greyeyes said.

Blueberry River hopes that will change with the skilled training program. This first pilot pro-gram ran with Blueberry River, but is intended for all First Nations impacted by resource extraction

in their traditional territories. “We’re extracting natural gas, but we do know

the significance of the earth, the air we breathe, the water that runs down the mountains. We know the significance to the First Nations people,” Zowtuk said. “We don’t want to be in the courtroom with them. We want to be in the board room with them. We want to be shoulder-to-shoulder, working together with them.”

The federal and provincial governments are not involved in the program at this stage, but

Zowtuk is preparing to take a proposal to them for funding support, particularly for the students’ living allowance.

“I just don’t see how someone can make it, if they’re going to a four-month class,” he said. “Im-agine if they have a family to feed, or if they’re on EI.”

He’s also considering expanding this training model beyond First Nations. Typical on-the-job training can take a year just to master the tech-nical skills that these students learn in the four-month in-class component.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BLACK SWAN ENERGY

Winston Apsassin completed the technical training component of his field operator course, and is one of 12 students heading into a six-month work placement where he will earn formal certification as a field operator. “It was neat learning how everything worked, from drilling to the rigs to instrumentation and pressure. The temperature and refrigeration process for LNG, and converting the gas into what people buy, all the way down the supply line.”

Career training puts Blueberry River students on the job in their traditional territory

“We’re extracting natural gas, but we do know the

significance of the earth, the air we

breathe, the water that runs down the mountains.

We know the significance to

the First Nations people.”

EDUCATION

Page 19: Pipeline News North June 2016

JUNE 17, 2016 PIPELINE NEWS NORTH • 19

Notice of Comment

NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) North Montney Project Request for Extension of Sunset Clause

The National Energy Board (NEB or Board) is in receipt of the request from NGTL dated 28 March 2016 for a one-year extension of the sunset clause in NGTL’s Certificate GC-125 authorizing the Project. If the request were approved, the Certificate would expire on 10 June 2017, unless construction of the project had commenced by that date.

NGTL has requested that the Board rely on the wording of condition 45 in the Certificate to allow it to extend the sunset clause without approval from the Governor-in-Council under section 21 of the National Energy Board Act (NEB Act).

Condition 45 of the Certificate states “Unless the Board otherwise directs prior to 10 June 2016, this Certificate will expire on 10 June 2016, unless construction in respect of the Section 52 Facility has commenced by that date.” The length of the requested extension is not minor and there is adequate time to consider it and allow the variance that the Board may approve, if any, to be referred to GIC for approval.

In view of the above, the Board will consider the request as an application to vary the Certificate pursuant to section 21 of the NEB Act. If the Board grants the variance requested, it will not be effective until approved by GIC.

Prior to making any decisions on the request, the Board has decided to solicit public comments on the following question:

What issues and information should the Board consider in deciding on the request?

NGTL has provided reasons for making the request. The Board would be interested in hearing comments on those reasons, whether other issues should also be considered, and if additional information should be required. Interested parties are encouraged to provide any information that they recommend the Board consider in deciding on the request.

The Board found that the Project is in the public interest after the GH-001-2014 hearing. The Board does not intend to rehear issues that it already has decided.

The Board will accept public comments until 8 July 2016. The Board will allow NGTL to submit reply comments by 29 July 2016.

No application to participate is required. Comments may be submitted by electronic submission (e-file), fax, or mail. Email is not a valid method of submitting comments to the Board. Please note that the Board will not accept late submissions or form letters.

To e-file a submission, follow the e-file link on NEB Project webpage, which is accessible from the main NEB website (www.neb-one.gc.ca).

Mail or fax letters to:

Secretary to the Board National Energy Board 517 Tenth Avenue S.W. Calgary, Alberta T2R 0A8 Fax: 403-292-5503 or toll free fax at 1-877-288-8803.

TCP-NOT-JUN-16-002 - Jun 10, 2016 - 9.4”x180 lines - 2 of 6 - Proof: 1 - Northern Horizon & Pipeline News

Page 20: Pipeline News North June 2016

Rain or Shine!For more information and onlineregistration check out our websiteANY RIDE, ANY TYPE, ANY SHAPE ALL ARE WELCOME

20 • PIPELINE NEWS NORTH JUNE 17, 2016

Page 21: Pipeline News North June 2016

JUNE 17, 2016 PIPELINE NEWS NORTH • 21

Zimmer accuses feds of ‘dithering’ as Pacific NorthWest LNG

decision pushed to SeptemberJONNY [email protected]

Canada’s Natural Resources Minister says a federal decision on Pacific North-West LNG will likely come some time this fall.

According to a Canadian Press report, Minister Jim Carr told reporters at a clean energy conference in San Francisco last week that the federal government’s de-cision on the controversial project will “likely be some time after the 15th of September.”

The $11.4 billion terminal on Lelu Is-land outside Prince Rupert would liquefy natural gas sourced in the Peace Region. It is considered a crucial piece of B.C.’s oil and gas industry, as the sector strug-gles with a North American supply glut. Developing an LNG industry was also a major plank of the provincial B.C. Liberal government in the 2013 election.

However, the plant has encountered opposition from environmental groups

and First Nations over its impact on Can-ada’s greenhouse gas reduction commit-ments, as well as its impact on the Skeena River salmon fishery.

In March, the federal government asked from more information on the project, delaying approval by several months.

Carr told reporters that the Sept. 15 timeline depends on when Pacific North-West LNG submits its final paperwork.

“I expect a decision before the end of September—unless for reasons I don’t know about today, there is significant de-lay in the filing of the final application to the regulator.”

He said project proponent Petronas is expected to make its final submissions to the Canadian Environmental Assess-ment Agency in the coming weeks. If the agency accepts the filings, it then has 90 days to make a decision whether to ap-prove the project.

Meanwhile, Peace Region MP Bob Zimmer accused the Liberal government

of “dithering” on the project.“It’s one thing to delay. Now it just

seems like dithering,” Zimmer said. “They don’t accept what’s given to them even though it’s already passed an en-vironmental process provincially and even federally with (the previous gov-ernment). They seem to be dithering about it and pushing it further down the calendar.”

Zimmer said the possibility of Petronas walking on the project due to regulatory delays is a concern.

“They’re not leaving easily,” Zimmer said. “They’ve got a whole bunch in-vested already and they see the potential here and are sticking with that. But be-lieve me, I’m as concerned as everyone in Northeast B.C. that the longer this goes on, the more the proponent looks and says ‘are we still in this game?’ That’s my biggest concern.”

The company will make a decision whether to invest in the project after the results of the CEAA process.

GOVERNMENT OF CANADA PHOTO

Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr (right) speaks with Mark Kenber, CEO of the Climate Group, at the Clean Energy Ministerial in San Francisco on June 2.

LNG

Page 22: Pipeline News North June 2016

MIKE [email protected]

Before rezoning a hotly contested piece of rural land for a gas processing facility in Tomslake, the Peace River Regional District (PRRD) will host a second public hearing on the project

Encana Corporation wants to build a natural gas plant on the 46.9-acre plot to process liquids in-cluding propane and butane.

The project is facing resistance from the 25 resi-dents in the area who have expressed concerns about increased traffic and having an industrial fa-cility near their homes.

The first public hearing on the plant was held in Tomslake May 17.

In a delegation early this year to the PRRD board, residents of Blockline Road said that Encana had “not gained a social licence to be our neighbours.”

The plant was the subject of vigorous debate among PRRD directors June 9. The eventual vote to proceed with a second public hear-ing instead of the rezoning, didn’t sit well with some of the directors.

Dawson Creek Mayor Dale Bumstead said he would have preferred the PRRD move ahead on a rezoning decision, saying another public hearing was a waste of time.

He said the plant would provide jobs at a time when the industry is struggling.

“We’ve heard from the public,” he said. “I hear from people in the community everyday about their (businesses) going downhill. You don’t hear from those people at a public hearing.”

Fort St. John Mayor Lori Ackerman was also in favour of approving the rezoning, saying the PRRD had already made it a priority to develop gas pro-cessing capabilities in the Peace. This project, she said, fit in with that.

“When I look at the direction the regional dis-

trict took years ago and the conversation we had around having the processing done locally before it leaves our (region), I can’t support the option to (delay) this,” she told the board. “There’s got to be a way.”

The residents of Blockline Road say they’re not opposed to the natural gas industry, only to the lo-cation of the plant.

The project has gained approval for non-farm use of the land by the Agricultural Land Commis-sion (ALC) and has also received permits from the

Oil and Gas Commission (OGC). Area B director Karen Goodings said now it’s

time for the regional district to weigh in. “I believe the OGC has the responsibility to ad-

dress issues of industry and the ALC would ap-prove a non-farm use of the land. I believe it is this board’s responsibility to address the concerns of the residents.”

A date for the public hearing is yet to be an-nounced, but it will be held at the Peace River Regional District board office in Dawson Creek.

22 • PIPELINE NEWS NORTH JUNE 17, 2016

AARON WHITFIELD PHOTOS

Northern Rockies Mayor Bill Streeper and Fort St. John Mayor Lori Ackerman delivered keynote speeches at the Nation2Nation forum in Kitimat in early June. At the forum, hosted by the Haisla Nation, the two mayors focused on the development of LNG and need to capitalize on selling B.C.’s natural gas to international markets. Both mayors also talked about the Northeast BC Resource Municipalities Coalition, and the research it has undertaken for municipalities in the region. Left, Streeper with Haisla Councillor Crystal Smith, and Ackerman.

DC, FSJ mayors push for new Encana gas plantBut nearby residents argue against location

A map provided to the PRRD by a resident living near the proposed Encana Corp. South Central Liquids Hub, a processing facility for natural gas liquids like propane and butane.

DEVELOPMENT

Page 23: Pipeline News North June 2016

JUNE 17, 2016 PIPELINE NEWS NORTH • 23

CONSIGN EQUIPMENT & TRUCKS NOWALL EQUIPMENT SOLD ONSITE OR VIRTUALLY FROM YOUR LOT

For more information visit

IronPlanet.com

California Auction Company Bond #70259785. Preliminary list to date. Equipment subject to change. © 1999-2016 IronPlanet, Inc. All Rights Reserved. IronPlanet® and IronClad Assurance® are registered service marks of IronPlanet, Inc. All other marks and brands are the property of their respective owners.

UNRESERVED PUBLIC AUCTION

JOIN IRONPLANET® AND CAT AUCTION SERVICESFOR OUR NEXT UNRESERVED PUBLIC AUCTION IN CANADA

SEPTEMBER 21 | EDMONTON, ALBERTA

HOSTED BY

CONTACT YOUR LOCAL REPRESENTATIVE

Buy with confidence! Look for the IronClad Assurance® logo for inspected and guaranteed items.

Managing Director, IronPlanet CanadaSue McGregor: (780) [email protected]

Northern AlbertaChris Huot: (780) [email protected]

Central AlbertaGord Mills: (587) [email protected]

Northwest AlbertaBrian Petkau: (780) [email protected]

British ColumbiaRob Dickson: (778) [email protected]

Region Manager, AB Site Operations & Key AccountsKelly Vandenberghe: (780) [email protected]

Southern AlbertaSteve Wicks: (587) [email protected]

Page 24: Pipeline News North June 2016

R0011181077

24 • PIPELINE NEWS NORTH JUNE 17, 2016