TransCanada Corporation will move forward with a $1.5 billion expansion of its NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) System to connect existing and new supply to incremental intra-basin market demand.
“The NGTL System continues to expand as parties require and contract for greater pipeline capacity to meet the growing demand for clean-burning natural gas from domestic and export markets,” said Russ Girling, TransCanada’s president and chief executive officer. “This new investment brings the capacity expansion programs underway on the NGTL System to more than $9 billion.”
This expansion program is underpinned by approximately 1.1 billion cubic feet per day of new firm service contracts. Shippers have executed commercial agreements for 754 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of incremental firm delivery services commencing in April 2022 that will connect growing Alberta market demand in the power generation, oil sands, petrochemical, industrial and utilities segments. Shippers have also concurrently executed 377 MMcf/d of firm receipt services commencing in November 2021 that will connect incremental Montney and Deep Basin supply to the system. The contracts have terms that range from eight to 20 years.
The program consists of approximately 197 kilometres (122 miles) of large diameter pipeline, three compression units, meter stations and associated facilities. Applications for approvals to construct and operate the facilities are expected to be filed with the National Energy Board in the second quarter of 2019 and, pending receipt of regulatory approvals, construction will commence as early as the third quarter of 2020, with the majority of the capital investment expected to occur in 2021 and 2022.