JANUARY 2013
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Big North FREE PRESS
■ $5 BILLION PROJECT
TranCanada picked to build pipeline DELYNDA PILON newsroom@pgfreepress.com
He never doubted Canada would win the gold medal at the hockey game at the Vancouver Olympics. In fact Russ Girling was even happy when the teams tied two all. It made it more interesting. “I had no doubt they were going to win. Similarly that’s the case for B.C.’s development of this resource,” he said. Girling is the president and CEO of TransCanada Corp. and TransCanada Pipeline Ltd., the company chosen to design, build, own and operate the proposed $5 billion Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project for Progress Energy. The line will move natural gas from the North Montney region (near Fort St. John) to the Pacific Northwest LNG plant which will be constructed near Prince Rupert. Girling said at TransCanada they have the view that natural gas may be one of the most significant drivers of the economy of Canada in the near future. “These aren’t just words. We are putting our money where our mouth is.” The point now is building transportation to get the product to off-shore markets. Participating in new markets is nothing new to TransCanada. It was pivotal in bringing natural gas from the west to markets in the east. In the 1950’s it took natural gas to California and other US markets. “Today it’s one of the largest pipeline companies in North America,” he said. “We move about 20 per cent of the supply in North America today. We are the third largest base of operations in North America today. It is this long-term experience we are going to bring to B.C.” Girling spoke about the importance of safety to TransCanada as well as social licence. “We do recognize maintaining our
De Ly nd a PILON/ Fre e Pre s s
Michael Colbert (right) of Progress Energy and Russ Girling, TransCanada Pipelines, announce at the B.C. Natural Resources Forum in Prince George that TransCanada will build a $5 billion pipeline for Progress. social licence is based on trust,” he said. Girling said they have a lot of community engagement, including with Aboriginal groups, adding they have engaged with over 150 communities within 50 km of the pipeline system. He added they have the single largest gathering system in North America. Speaking of the coastal gas link, Girling said the descriptions which start
the environmental process, one provincial and one federal, were both filed in April. In 2013 the company will be gathering data for an advanced engineer design. The Pacific northwest LNG project should be in service by 2018. “We are pleased to be partners with Progress on this project,” Girling said. The project will extend Nova Gas fur-
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ther into B.C., interconnect with Prince Rupert and travel further north to connect with additional reserves. He added about 20 Aboriginal communities have already been contacted with the news. More will follow as the engagement process begins. About 2,500 people will be involved in the construction process, and there will be numerous spin-off benefits.
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