Latest news with #pipelines
CBC
2 days ago
- Business
- CBC
B.C. Premier David Eby says he supports the tanker ban on the province's North Coast
Despite Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's push to pump crude oil to British Columbia, B.C. Premier David Eby says his government backs the federal tanker ban that prohibits oil tankers from stopping, loading, or unloading at protected area ports on the province's North Coast. "This is a pristine ecological area that produces huge benefits for British Columbia and also is an increasing corridor, generally speaking, for cargo," Eby told CBC's Daybreak North on Tuesday. "That's why we support the existing oil tanker ban." The tanker ban prohibits oil tankers plying B.C.'s North Coast from carrying more than 12,500 metric tons of crude oil or persistent oil products as cargo. But Eby won't directly say if he is against a future pipeline to the area, something Smith has said she's actively searching for interested private sector companies to fund. While the premier has said he's open to a discussion with the Alberta premier if a private proponent came to the table, he says he's more interested in the $50 billion in resource and energy projects already under development in B.C. "The challenge for me is that the conversation has been almost exclusively about a project that doesn't actually exist. There's no proponent; there's no money," Eby said. "I would prefer very much that we stay focused on what actually exists, what's ready to go through environmental assessment processes, or nearly." Marilyn Slett, chief councillor of the Heiltsuk First Nation and president of the Coastal First Nations/Great Bear Initiative, says she wants clarity on Eby's commitment to protect the area. "Certainly there's a contradiction, you know, in terms of supporting privately funded oil pipelines on the North Coast and that direct contradiction of his, you know, supposed support to the oil tanker moratorium," said Slett. "We need to know whether or not he's changed his stance, you know, on protecting the coast," Slett said. Eby says there are other projects apart from a potential pipeline that can benefit both British Columbia and Alberta. When asked by a CBC reporter whether his support of an oil tanker ban on the North Coast ruled out the idea of a northern pipeline, the premier sidestepped the issue, replying: "I think that if we're talking about benefiting Canada's economy, if we're talking about growing British Columbia's economy and opportunities, and Alberta's too, let's focus on the projects where there are actually proponents and we're ready to go," said Eby. 'Federal radar' LNG Canada began producing liquefied natural gas, a fossil fuel often extracted from northeastern B.C. and Alberta, for export at its facility in Kitimat, B.C., on Sunday. According to the B.C. government, the facility is expected to export 14 million tonnes of LNG a year, creating close to 300 ongoing jobs worth an estimated $575 million annually for 40 years. In May, a new 44-square kilometre gold and silver mine officially opened in the province's central Interior, southwest of Vanderhoof, B.C., and west of Prince George. The mine is approved with an economic and community development agreement with the Lhoosk'uz Dené Nation and Ulkatcho First Nation to share mineral tax revenue from the mine. Ebys says the two First Nations are equity partners in the project. "And this is the model that you're going to see and are seeing increasingly across the province," Eby said. When it comes to the spectre of a possible oil pipeline, Eby says no discussions with First Nations have yet occurred because the project doesn't exist. "There are lots of conversations underway with First Nations on actual projects that have actual proponents that actually are through or going through the environmental assessment process," said Eby. "B.C. has a hard enough time getting on the federal radar at all, and we have such huge projects with such consequential impacts for Canada's GDP, for prosperity, for our province, than to have the discussion be about a nonexistent project because Alberta wants to talk about it."
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
North Dakota considers 2 proposed natural gas pipelines that would stretch across the state
A state official briefed regulators Thursday on two separate underground pipelines that companies plan to build across hundreds of miles of North Dakota, bringing natural gas from the oil fields in the west to mostly industrial users in the more populated east. Both pipelines — one by Intensity Infrastructure Partners and Rainbow Energy Center, the other by WBI Energy — would span about 350 miles (563 kilometers) roughly from the Watford City to Fargo areas. Segments would come into service in 2029 and 2030. The companies didn't disclose the projects' costs. The presentation to a state industrial panel of elected officials was among the first steps in a process for the state to sign on with a 10-year, $50 million-per-year line of credit. That is essentially a backstop so projects can proceed with the intent that the state back out one day when other users join. Companies won't build a pipeline without firm commitments from users. North Dakota has a critical need for more natural gas transportation as oil wells age and produce more natural gas relative to oil, North Dakota Pipeline Authority Director Justin Kringstad said. Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong welcomed the projects for helping oil production, which is a huge driver of the state budget. 'If you can't move your gas and you have a finite amount of capital to invest in drilling, you're going to drill where you can market your gas, or you're going to do it in a different manner," the governor said. 'So being able to move gas out of the Bakken (oil region) will help produce more oil.' North Dakota is producing a near-record 3.5 billion cubic feet (99.1 million cubic liters) per day of natural gas. The state has long wanted such pipelines, but efforts never succeeded in the past because of developments that hurt demand, such as oil price declines and the COVID-19 pandemic, Kringstad said. 'Today we're seeing a much stronger pull on the demand side than we've ever seen in these efforts," Kringstad said. 'We've always seen the push and the need in the west, but today the appetite across the state for natural gas and for energy is at the highest that I've ever seen.' The gas will mostly be used for industrial purposes but also growing residential needs, he said. The pipelines could carry as much as 1 million dekatherms per day, a volume he said would be 'extremely meaningful in addressing the challenges that North Dakota is facing." Capturing and moving the gas out of the oil field has been an issue over the years as officials and industry have sought to boost infrastructure and reduce flaring, or the burning of natural gas into the air. Although the state captured about 96% of the gas in April, critics have long raised environmental and health concerns about flaring. The Trump administration has pushed for increased domestic energy production, largely from fossil fuel sources. Doug Burgum, a former North Dakota governor and now the U.S. Interior secretary, has long called for raising energy extraction efforts. Other pipeline projects in North Dakota have drawn enormous pushback in recent years, including huge protests of the Dakota Access oil pipeline and landowner resistance around the Midwest to Summit Carbon Solutions' proposed carbon dioxide network. Armstrong said some degree of pushback is likely, 'but the reality is pipelines are the easiest way to move things.' It's unclear whether eminent domain, or the taking of private property with just compensation, will come into play for the pipelines. A Rainbow Enegry Center leader said Intensity Infrastructure Partners has never utilized eminent domain in more than 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) of pipeline it has built in North Dakota. A WBI Energy spokesperson said he couldn't answer. Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions has faced intense opposition over eminent domain for its proposed five-state carbon dioxide pipeline. Some landowners have opposed eminent domain as the company seeks to build the pipeline, and South Dakota's governor earlier this year signed a ban on eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines.
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
North Dakota considers 2 proposed natural gas pipelines that would stretch across the state
BISMARCK, N.D. — A state official briefed regulators Thursday on two separate underground pipelines that companies plan to build across hundreds of miles of North Dakota, bringing natural gas from the oil fields in the west to mostly industrial users in the more populated east. Both pipelines — one by Intensity Infrastructure Partners and Rainbow Energy Center, the other by WBI Energy — would span about 350 miles (563 kilometers) roughly from the Watford City to Fargo areas. Segments would come into service in 2029 and 2030. The companies didn't disclose the projects' costs.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
North Dakota considers 2 proposed natural gas pipelines that would stretch across the state
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A state official briefed regulators Thursday on two separate underground pipelines that companies plan to build across hundreds of miles of North Dakota, bringing natural gas from the oil fields in the west to mostly industrial users in the more populated east. Both pipelines — one by Intensity Infrastructure Partners and Rainbow Energy Center, the other by WBI Energy — would span about 350 miles (563 kilometers) roughly from the Watford City to Fargo areas. Segments would come into service in 2029 and 2030. The companies didn't disclose the projects' costs. The presentation to a state industrial panel of elected officials was among the first steps in a process for the state to sign on with a 10-year, $50 million-per-year line of credit. That is essentially a backstop so projects can proceed with the intent that the state back out one day when other users join. Companies won't build a pipeline without firm commitments from users. North Dakota has a critical need for more natural gas transportation as oil wells age and produce more natural gas relative to oil, North Dakota Pipeline Authority Director Justin Kringstad said. Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong welcomed the projects for helping oil production, which is a huge driver of the state budget. 'If you can't move your gas and you have a finite amount of capital to invest in drilling, you're going to drill where you can market your gas, or you're going to do it in a different manner,' the governor said. 'So being able to move gas out of the Bakken (oil region) will help produce more oil.' North Dakota is producing a near-record 3.5 billion cubic feet (99.1 million cubic liters) per day of natural gas. The state has long wanted such pipelines, but efforts never succeeded in the past because of developments that hurt demand, such as oil price declines and the COVID-19 pandemic, Kringstad said. 'Today we're seeing a much stronger pull on the demand side than we've ever seen in these efforts,' Kringstad said. 'We've always seen the push and the need in the west, but today the appetite across the state for natural gas and for energy is at the highest that I've ever seen.' The gas will mostly be used for industrial purposes but also growing residential needs, he said. The pipelines could carry as much as 1 million dekatherms per day, a volume he said would be 'extremely meaningful in addressing the challenges that North Dakota is facing.' Capturing and moving the gas out of the oil field has been an issue over the years as officials and industry have sought to boost infrastructure and reduce flaring, or the burning of natural gas into the air. Although the state captured about 96% of the gas in April, critics have long raised environmental and health concerns about flaring. The Trump administration has pushed for increased domestic energy production, largely from fossil fuel sources. Doug Burgum, a former North Dakota governor and now the U.S. Interior secretary, has long called for raising energy extraction efforts. Other pipeline projects in North Dakota have drawn enormous pushback in recent years, including huge protests of the Dakota Access oil pipeline and landowner resistance around the Midwest to Summit Carbon Solutions' proposed carbon dioxide network. Armstrong said some degree of pushback is likely, 'but the reality is pipelines are the easiest way to move things.' It's unclear whether eminent domain, or the taking of private property with just compensation, will come into play for the pipelines. A Rainbow Enegry Center leader said Intensity Infrastructure Partners has never utilized eminent domain in more than 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) of pipeline it has built in North Dakota. A WBI Energy spokesperson said he couldn't answer. Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions has faced intense opposition over eminent domain for its proposed five-state carbon dioxide pipeline. Some landowners have opposed eminent domain as the company seeks to build the pipeline, and South Dakota's governor earlier this year signed a ban on eminent domain for carbon dioxide pipelines.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Canadian Senate approves law to fast track major resource projects
OTTAWA, June 26 (Reuters) - The Canadian Senate on Thursday formally approved a draft law that would fast track major resource and infrastructure projects such as crude oil pipelines and mines. Prime Minister Mark Carney says the legislation is needed to help Canada reduce its reliance on the United States. The law will come into effect when it is signed later in the day by Governor General Mary Simon, the personal representative of King Charles, Canada's head of state.
