A 1.1 billion dollar project that will see Liquefied Natural Gas shipped from Kitimat to near Prince George, has made further progress as Pacific Trail Pipelines Limited Partnership received its environmental certificate last week.
The Daily News outlined how the project is set to move ahead and how Kitimat plays a central role in the plan to import Liquefied Natural Gas into British Columbia.
'Thumbs-up' for Kitimat LNG
Liquefied natural gas pipeline clears the environmental hurdle
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Pages one and two
The company proposing to pipe Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Kitimat to Summit Lake near Prince George is one step closer to making its $1.1 billion project a reality.
Last week, the province announced it has issued an environmental certificate to Pacific Trail Pipelines Limited Partnership, a joint venture between Kitimat LNG and Pacific Northern Gas, for its Kitimat-Summit Lake Pipeline project.
The pipeline will allow Kitimat LNG, which is developing an LNG import terminal in Kitimat, access to the North American natural gas market.
The idea is to liquefy natural gas by super-cooling it and transporting it on specially built ships from areas of the world that have stranded gas supplies. At Kitimat, the liquid would be turned back into gas and sent along the pipeline where it could be sold into the market.
In a news release issued by the province, Environment Minister Barry Penner and Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Richard Neufeld said they made their decision to grant the EA certificate after considering a comprehensive review led by B.C.'s Environmental Assessment Office.
"The Environmental Assessment Office is satisfied that the assessment process has adequately identified and addressed the potential adverse environmental, economic, social, heritage and health effects of the project ..." said Robin Junger, executive director of the Environmental Assessment Office.
In addition, public consultation was carried out and the Crown has fulfilled its obligations to consult and accommodate First Nations, said Junger.
The provincial environmental assessment certificate contains numerous commitments, including assessing the erosion potential of soils and implementing adequate erosion controls; mitigating potential loss or degradation of in-stream fish habitat and potential effects to wildlife and managing public access into previously inaccessible areas.
And the project still requires environmental approval at the federal level.
The project consists of the construction and operation of a 463-kilometre, 91-centimetre diameter buried pipe between Kitimat and Summit Lake, including one new compressor station along the proposed system that will connect with the existing Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. natural gas pipeline and convey natural gas from the proposed Kitimat Liquefied Natural Gas (KLNG) terminal to the Spectra Energy gas transmission system.
While the Pacific Trail Pipeline route will follow the existing Pacific Northern Gas pipeline between Summit Lake, just north of Prince George, and Endako, west of Fraser Lake, from there, the pipeline will take a new, more southern route to Kitimat.
Capital costs for the Kitimat-Summit Lake Pipeline Project are estimated at $1.1 billion.
The project will cross provincial and local government jurisdictions. Once the project is in operation, it is estimated that the proponent will pay at least $74 million in provincial and local government taxes during the anticipated 50-year life of the pipeline.
The project is expected to create approximately 1,200-1,500 jobs during a 24-month clearing and construction phase.
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