Trans Canada dips a toe back into Prince Rupert's LNG waters

The Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Line, TransCanada has recently 
renewed its options on the route indicating some new interest may 
be at hand for a terminal project in the region
(Map from TransCanada website)

Hold onto your hats Prince Rupert, there may yet be some LNG speculation to be had in the area after all, with word of some renewed interest in a proposed transmission line to the region.

We know where the pipeline will start, what's not so clear at the moment, is where it's going to end up. That after Trans Canada Pipelines offered up a surprise announcement last week that they were keeping their options open when it comes to the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Line.

The project which originally was destined to provide Natural gas from the Northeast corner of the province to the proposed LNG terminal at Lelu Island, was put on the shelf following the July 2017 announcement by Petronas that they were abandoning their plans for the Port Edward terminal.

While the LNG Terminal project for Lelu Island is now but a memory, the PRGT project page remains alive and offers up background on the planned transmission of gas from the Peace to the North Coast.

Last week TransCanada the parent company of the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Line outlined how they were pursuing a revival of their transmission line project, renewing their permits with the Oil and Gas Commission and making the necessary steps to welcome a new partner should conditions prove favourable for LNG terminal development on the North Coast.

The string of previous approvals from the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office can be found here.

TransCanada did not tip their hand as to which company may be kicking some tires and when further information may be released, or where the terminal facility may end up.

However, with Lelu Island  perhaps off the drawing board for LNG developments following the Port of Prince Rupert's announcement from January, two other easily accessible options come to mind.

Both offering a location that may be much easier to promote with the environmentalists in the region for any LNG terminal that may be in the cards for the Prince Rupert Area.

Ridley Island and Grassy Point are two options for
any new proposals for LNG terminals in the region

There is the area previously allocated for Canpotex on Ridley Island, as well as the Grassy Point area near Lax Kw'alaams, both of which have in the past been suggested as good choices for any future development plans, with the Grassy Point option once considered by the Australian energy giant Woodside.

As well, the City of Prince Rupert may want to dust off the map to Tuck inlet and make another run at the area just north of Seal Cove as a potential site, that location once the proposed location for a project that had been explored by Exxon/Mobil/Imperial.

Where the terminal may end up, should the investors choose to move forward is anyones guess at this point of the process however.

As they further their review and their partner expands their footprint somewhere in the Northwest, we'll follow the latest updates and notes through our archive page here.

You can trace some of Prince Rupert's last few dances with potential LNG Terminal developers from our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.