Top 10 Canadian Project Kickoffs in Fourth-Quarter 2015 Shows Embattled Oil & Gas Industry Can Still Drive Growth

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Although crude oil prices have taken a beating in the past year, Canada's Oil & Gas Industry continues to drive much of the nation's $8.66 billion in construction kickoffs in fourth-quarter 2015. Almost 75% of the total is attached to projects in four industries: Oil & Gas Production; Alternative Fuels; Oil & Gas Pipelines; and Metals & Minerals. Of the 10 highest-value projects, eight can be found in the oil-rich areas of Alberta.

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

The Oil & Gas Production Industry remains on top with slightly more than $2 billion in projects set to begin construction in the fourth quarter. One of the largest is Keyera Corporation (TSX:KEY) (Calgary, Alberta) $220 million expansion of an natural gas liquids (NGL) fractionator in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. The company plans to expand capacity at the facility from 30,000 to 65,000 barrels per day (BBL/d). URS Corporation (Denver, Colorado) is performing engineering services. For details on this expansion project, see Industrial Info's project report.

The Alternative Fuels Industry is in a distant, but still solid, second place with $1.76 billion in Canadian kickoffs from October through December. Among them is CR Fuels Incorporated's (Strathmore, Alberta) long-delayed $270 million construction of a biofuels complex in Strathmore. The company plans to construct production facilities and install fermentation and distillation systems to produce 42 million gallons per year of fuel ethanol from wheat feedstock. CR Fuels also is considering a 4-megawatt (MW), manure-fired cogeneration unit. However, several kickoff dates have flown by in the past five years, so a construction start is far from certain. For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.

The Oil & Gas Pipelines Industry has $1.71 billion in projected construction starts, including Pembina Pipeline Corporation's (NYSE:PBA) (Calgary) $150 million expansion of a crude and condensate pipeline in Alberta. The project, which is the third part of a broader expansion, will consist of 70 kilometers of 12-inch-diameter pipeline that will transport 95,000 BBL/d crude oil and condensate from an area near Grande Prairie, Alberta, to an interconnect 50 miles west of Fox Creek, Alberta. CH2M Hill Energy Services (Burnaby, British Columbia) is performing engineering services. For details on this expansion project, see Industrial Info's project report.

The Metals & Minerals Industry is looking at $920 million in project kickoffs through the end of the year in Canada, including EVRAZ Group plc's (London, England) $200 million in additions at a steel mill in Regina, Saskatchewan. The company plans to install equipment for the production of 100,000 tons per year mill of larger and thicker pipe, and perform upgrades to produce steel approved by the American Petroleum Institute for use in pipe manufacturing. The project in in the preliminary engineering stages; for details, see Industrial Info's project report.

Along with the Keyera and CR Fuels projects, the 10 highest-value Canadian projects set to begin construction in the fourth quarter are:

• $1.4 Billion: Inland Pacific Energy Center LLC's Nyssa Biofuels Complex in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
  For details on this construction project, see September 28, 2015, article - Western Canada's $10.5 Billion in Fourth-Quarter Kickoffs Show Some Resilience in Region's Oil & Gas Industry, and Industrial Info's project report.
• $1 Billion: ConocoPhillips' Surmont Oil Sands SAGD Production Expansion in Fort McMurray, Alberta
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $800 Million: Pembina Pipeline Corporation's Pipeline Expansion in Alberta
  For details on this construction project, see September 28, 2015, article - Western Canada's $10.5 Billion in Fourth-Quarter Kickoffs Show Some Resilience in Region's Oil & Gas Industry, and Industrial Info's project report.
• $400 Million: Enbridge Incorporated's Norlite Diluent Pipeline in Alberta
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.
• $300 Million: TransCanada Corporation's Crude Oil Terminal in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta
  For details on this construction project, see September 28, 2015, article - Western Canada's $10.5 Billion in Fourth-Quarter Kickoffs Show Some Resilience in Region's Oil & Gas Industry, and Industrial Info's project report.
• China National Petroleum Corporation's Duvernay Shale Drilling Program in Alberta
  For details on this construction project, see September 28, 2015, article - Western Canada's $10.5 Billion in Fourth-Quarter Kickoffs Show Some Resilience in Region's Oil & Gas Industry, and 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.
• $200 Million: Paper Excellence Canada Holdings' Kraft Pulp and Paper Mill in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
  For details on this construction project, see Industrial Info's project report.

More than half of Canada's total investment value (TIV)--about $5.18 billion--is related to 50 projects that are now in the planning stages, where plenty of factors could increase, decrease or eliminate the expected spending. The country also has 56 projects worth about $3.23 billion in the engineering stages, while 133 projects worth $247 million already have kicked off the first stage of construction and will kick off the next in the fourth quarter.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 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.