All Pipe in Ground for TC Energy's Coastal GasLink Pipeline

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Earlier this week, TC Energy Corporation (NYSE:TRP) (Calgary, Alberta) announced that it had made the final weld to the last of the pipe for the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline, running 415 miles from Dawson Creek to Kitimat in British Columbia. The pipeline has been hydrotested and now the final stage of mechanical completion will begin, followed by commissioning.

The new pipeline has two customers in place, both in the business of producing and exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). These are LNG Canada (Kitimat) and Cedar LNG Partners (Vancouver, British Columbia). TC Energy issued a statement noting that the pipeline is "fully contracted" to deliver gas to LNG Canada and Cedar LNG and there were "no additional parties involved in commercial discussions with Coastal GasLink at this time."

In Kitimat, LNG Canada, a consortium led by Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) (London, England), is well underway with one of the largest infrastructure investments in Canada's history. Construction on the company's LNG production facility began in 2019 and was slowed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic but rapidly regained pace when the situation normalized. The plant will include two trains, each with a production capacity of 7 million metric tons per year. The project is expected to be completed early next year. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Production Project Database can click here for more details.

Coastal GasLink's other client, Cedar LNG, plans to construct a floating LNG terminal in Kitimat that will produce 3 million metric tons of LNG per year and have storage capacity of 136,000 cubic meters. Construction is anticipated to kick off early next year, putting the facility on track for completion in 2027. In addition to the plant, Cedar LNG will construct a 5.3-mile pipeline with a 24-inch diameter to connect to the Coastal GasLink line and carry up to 400 million cubic feet per day of gas to the plant. This smaller pipeline is anticipated to be completed in mid-2025. Subscribers can learn more by viewing the project reports on the floating LNG plant and the pipeline.

Although nearing completion, the Coastal GasLink Pipeline has not been without challenges. Work on the LNG Canada project and Coastal GasLink Pipeline was sanctioned at a formal signing ceremony in October 2018. The pipeline project saw a significant increase in costs as it progressed, more than doubling an original estimate. The pipeline has also faced opposition from Indigenous groups and environmentalists.

However, many of the challenges were overcome, and in addition to final commissioning, much of the work left is reclamation work along the pipeline's route. "Reclamation is underway in many sections across the project route, including time-sensitive work that must take place before winter," the company said in a construction update.

The 48-inch-diameter Coastal GasLink pipeline will be able to carry 2.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas, with the potential to expand up to 5 Bcf/d in the future. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Pipeline Project Database can click here for related reports on the project, including those for compressor stations along the route.

But the Coastal GasLink isn't all TC Energy is up to Canada. The company is branching into the power sector, particularly for renewable energy projects, but its main focus remains on pipelines. Among its projects currently underway is the West Path Delivery 2023 Program, which includes 43 miles of 48-inch-diameter pipeline to move gas within Alberta. The pipeline will be able to carry 100 million cubic feet per day from Alberta's Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin to downstream markets. The projects are expected to be completed early next year. Subscribers can click here to view related project reports.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here to view reports for many of the projects discussed in this article and click here for the related plant profiles.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).