Western Canada's $10.5 Billion in Fourth-Quarter Kickoffs Show Some Resilience in Region's Oil & Gas Industry

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Low commodity prices have tied up numerous projects in Western Canada, but Industrial Info still is tracking $10.5 billion in projects set to begin construction in the oil and gas-rich region in fourth-quarter 2015. More than 85% of the total can be attributed to four industries: Oil & Gas Production, Alternative Fuels, Oil & Gas Pipelines, and Terminals.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing planned fourth-quarter 2015 project kickoffs in the Western Canadian region by industry.

The Western Canadian region includes the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and the Northwest, Nunavut and Yukon territories.

To the surprise of few, the Oil & Gas Production Industry leads all other industries in the region with nearly $5 billion in projects set to begin construction in the fourth quarter. Among the drilling projects tracked by Industrial Info is EnCana Corporation's (NYSE:ECA) $300 million program in the Duvernay Shale in Alberta and northern British Columbia. Plans involve drilling 15 to 20 new oil and gas wells with capacities for 2,500 barrels per day (BBL/d) of oil; 500 BBL/d of natural gas liquids; and 20 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas. The company expects two vertical and eight to 10 horizontal wells, utilizing six to eight rigs. For details on this project, see Industrial Info's project report.

The Alternative Fuels Industry also has a strong showing with $1.72 billion in projects set to kick off from October through December, although the bulk of that amount is attributed to Inland Pacific Energy Center LLC's (Nyssa, Oregon) $1.4 billion biofuels complex in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The 138 million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant will use a corn oil-fractionation system, a 96 million-gallon-per-year biodiesel plant, and a feed mill to digest grain and canola-oil feedstocks. Crown Iron Works Company (Minneapolis, Minnesota) is serving as technology provider, and Apollo Incorporated (Wolf Point, Montana) is serving as contractor. For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.

The Oil & Gas Pipelines Industry isn't far behind with $1.7 billion in projects set to begin construction in the fourth quarter, including Pembina Pipeline Corporation's (NYSE:PBA) (Calgary, Alberta) $800 million expansion of a crude and condensate pipeline in Alberta. The project involves the construction of 24-inch- and 16-inch-diameter parallel pipeline segments, each 270 kilometers long, to transport 420,000 BBL/d of crude oil and condensate from Fox Creek to Namao (near Edmonton), Alberta. The capacity eventually will be expandable to 680,000 BBL/d. CH2M Hill Companies Limited (Englewood, Colorado) is performing design-engineering services. For details on this expansion project, see Industrial Info's project report.

The Terminals Industry is in a distant fourth place, with $700 million in projected construction starts in Western Canada next quarter. The largest is TransCanada Corporation's (NYSE:TRP) (Calgary) $300 million construction of Energy East Crude Oil Terminal in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. The facility, which is part of the 1.1 million-BBL/d Energy East Pipeline Project, will include six 350,000-barrel tanks and two 250,000-barrel tanks for a total storage capacity of up to 1.9 million barrels. Upside Engineering Limited (Calgary) is performing design-engineering services. For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.

The remaining six highest-value projects set to begin construction in Western Canada in the fourth quarter are:

• $1.39 Billion: Value Creation Group's Tristar SAGD Bitumen Production Plant near Fort McMurray, Alberta
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $1.05 Billion: Brion Energy's MacKay River SAGD Bitumen Production Plant near Fort McMurray
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $1 Billion: ConocoPhillips' Surmont Oil Sands SAGD Production near Fort McMurray
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• Enbridge Incorporated's Small Benn Diluent Pipeline in Alberta
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $390 Million: Prosper Petroleum Limited's Rigel Oil Sands Facility near Fort McMurray
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $300 Million: Kinder Morgan Incorporated's Base Line Crude Oil Storage Terminal in Sherwood Park, Alberta
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.

Of the $10.5 billion in total investment value for projects expected to kick off in the Western Canadian region in the fourth quarter, nearly three-quarters worth--$7.72 billion--are in the planning stages, where plenty of factors still could increase, decrease or totally eliminate the expected spending. About $2.72 billion is attached to projects currently in the engineering stages, while roughly $64 million worth already are in the early construction stages.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and ten international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.