Feds approve $4B gas pipeline expansion
· Toronto Sun
OTTAWA — Expected to add 140 kilometres of pipe and greatly increase capacity, a B.C. natural gas pipeline project has been given the nod from Ottawa.
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Energy Minister Tim Hodgson made the announcement in a Friday morning news release, saying the $4-billion Sunrise Expansion Project will indeed go ahead.
“Our commitment to Canadians was to get projects approved and built — and with today’s approval of the Sunrise Expansion Program, we’re doing just that,” Hodgson said in the release.
“This project will enable us to heat more homes, businesses, hospitals and schools while bolstering British Columbian industry, including for LNG, and creating thousands of jobs.”
He said the project’s approval shows the importance of collaboration.
“It is proof that, in partnership with industry and Indigenous partners, we can strengthen energy security and price stability and create new international trade opportunities while meeting rigorous environmental and safety standards,” he added.
Project will add capacity, create jobs
First proposed in early 2024, the Sunrise Expansion Project went through a two-year approval process before getting the go-ahead from the Canada Energy Regulator in January — subject to 47 binding conditions.
Final approval from cabinet came on Friday.
The project will add up to 300 million cu. ft. of gas daily to Enbridge’s Westcoast pipeline system, adding 140 kilometres of new pipeline across 11 “looping” segments that run parallel to the existing pipeline, stretching from from Chetwynd, B.C. in the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains south to the Canada-U.S. border near Abbotsford.
The existing pipeline system is 12.5% owned by the Stonlasec8 Indigenous Alliance — a consortium representing 38 B.C. Indigenous groups.
The pipeline is expected to help meet demand for Canadian natural gas in Asian markets, and it is expected to add around $3 billion to Canada’s GDP and create as many as 2,500 jobs.
Construction is slated to begin this summer.