$1.3B western gas pipeline expansion gets green light

• The Canadian government on Monday approved the $ 1.3- billion expansion of a natural- gas gathering pipeline in western Canada belonging to a wholly owned subsidiary of TransCanada Corp., with 36 conditions attached.

The Nova Gas Transmission Ltd. ( NGTL) expansion project will create up to 3,000 jobs during construction and involve building and operating new gas pipelines facilities, the Natural Resources Canada ministry said in a statement.

TransCanada said the entire project is expected to be finished by the second quarter of 2018.

Key conditions include of- fering jobs to individuals in the indigenous communities and developing a caribou habitat restoration plan.

Dirk Lever, an analyst with AltaCorp Capital in Calgary, said the approval was “absolutely expected” as natural- gas gathering pipelines attract far less scrutiny and controversy than major crude oil export pipelines.

The NGTL System is one of the largest in North America and gathers natural gas from the fast-growing Montney and Duvernay shale plays in northern Alberta and northeastern British Columbia.

The system gathers 75 per cent of the natural gas produced in western Canada, transporting approximately 11.3 billion cubic feet a day, according to TransCanada.

The Canadian government is in the middle of reforming i ts regulatory process for major energy projects, and in January announced a set of interim principles to guide decisions on projects already under review, including the NGTL expansion.

“The twin imperatives of economic prosperity and environmental protection guided us in our decisionmaking,” said Jim Carr, Canada’s minister of natural resources, adding he was confident the project supported the principles of sustainable development.

TransCanada’s Keystone XL oil pipeline to the United States was rejected by the U.S. administration last year, while its Energy East crude pipeline to Canada’s Atlantic coast is facing fierce opposition from environmentalists.

TransCanada chief executive Russ Girling said the NGTL expansion is an important part of his company’s $25-billion near-term capital program.