The Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal by proponent AltaGas is one step closer to being realized through a boost in its supply chain.
The company announced late December that it has received regulatory approval to double the size of its natural gas processing Townsend Facility north of Fort St. John.
The facility will be able to increase its scope from processing 198 Mmcf/d to 396 Mmcf/d.
The company also plans to retrofit the currently shallow-cut facility to a deep-cut processing facility at a future date.
'Townsend Phase 2' will cost approximately $85 million to $95 million. The Townsend Facility will feed into the recently green-lit North Pine propane facility near Fort St. John, which would in turn feed the proposed Ridley Island export terminal, which has been granted a 25-year licence from the National Energy Board to export up to 1.2 million tonnes of propane per year and would cost between $450 million to $500 million to build.
“The regulatory approvals for doubling the size of our Townsend Facility and for potentially converting the existing facility to a deep-cut, bode very well for continued and significant growth in northeastern B.C.,” said David Harris, president and CEO of AltaGas.
“We continue to see strong opportunities to expand our operations even beyond the doubling of Townsend and we will continue to work very closely with the First Nations, with producers and with the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission to realize these opportunities.”
In addition to the Townsend announcement, the company provided an update on the Ridley Island terminal on Dec. 19.
All documentation required for the propane facility's environmental approval has been submitted by the company and is still under review by Transport Canada, the Prince Rupert Port Authority and Ridley Terminals Inc.
“Obtaining the final approval from regulators is key to making a final investment decision. We continue to work closely with First Nations and regulators to get our Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal approved, and we expect a determination shortly,” said Harris.
The company anticipates having 40 per cent of physical volumes of the 1.2 million tonnes of propane based on the existing facilities and forecasts of new plant capacity, with the remaining 60 per cent to be provided by producers and aggregators in western Canada and through other AltaGas projects under active development, a press release stated.