AltaGas Prince Rupert hosted 15 North Coast leaders for tour of RIPET facility

Community partners reconnected with a post-pandemic inside look of the Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal (RIPET) when a group of more than 15 North Coast leaders toured the facility on July 8.

“Projects like this do not succeed without the support of the community. Through strong community partnerships, we together can raise awareness of the important role Western Canadian energy exports play in contributing to the economic development of this region while supporting the energy security and energy diversity in Asia,” Shaheen Amirali, executive vice president, chief external affairs and sustainability officer at AltaGas said.

The tour invitation was extended to local elected officials, who have been great partners to AltaGas over the years, AltaGas told The Northern View, who had a journalist on the tour.

AltaGas has been hosting tours since they started construction on the facility. Tours are something they plan to continue into the future because they are an effective way for leaders to meet the team and understand the action at the plant.

“The support of the community has been instrumental in the development of RIPET. We felt this was an opportunity to invite them back to meet our operations team and get a tour of how the facility works.”

AltaGas stated the tour was to maintain the strong partnerships established over the years and continue to foster new ones.

“Continuous engagement and communication with the community lead to more awareness of our work and how it positively contributes to the region in many ways, including through local skills training and employment, community investment, and supporting local needs.”

“Events such as this support community leaders to effectively share with their constituencies what’s happening at RIPET and how we have become a part of the community,” AltaGas stated.

“As communities in our operating areas start to re-open, AltaGas leaders travelled in to reconnect with partners to provide an inside look into our Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal (RIPET) and an update on our operations.”

The group of local leaders consisted of Jennifer Rice MLA for North Coast, Terrace Mayor Carole Leclerc and city councillors, Port Edward Mayor Knut Bjornadal, Shaun Stevenson and Ken Veldman from Prince Rupert Port Authority and Prince Rupert city council members and staff.

Leclerc said the first time she toured RIPET was when it was under construction.

“We went into the tank, and that was impressive. The next time I toured was when they did their grand opening. We celebrated in town and took shuttle buses to the site. [However, we did not get] off the shuttles,” the Terrace mayor said.

The tour started off with an on-screen information session detailing the plant, processes, and safety protocols.

“I enjoyed the tour … [AltaGas staff] did a great job during the presentation and explaining everything. It helped as we did our walking tour and it was nice to see things in operation. The rail cars are passing through Terrace every day and it made good sense to see where the rail cars go and what happens with the propane,” she said.

“Events such as this support community leaders to effectively share with their constituencies what’s happening at RIPET and how we have become a part of the community,” AltaGas stated.

With AltaGas nearing the five-year mark since development started, one goal is to maintain the strong partnerships established over the years and continue to foster new ones, the organization stated.

The LPG company stated continuous engagement and communication with the community lead to more awareness of the work and how it positively contributes to the region in many ways. Contributions include local skills training, employment, community investment, and supporting local needs.

“Events such as this support community leaders to effectively share with their constituencies what’s happening at RIPET and how we have become a part of the community.”