Unocal Canada Limited received approval from the BritishColumbia Ministry of Energy and Mines to increase the maximumstorage capacity of the Aitken Creek gas storage reservoir.Approval allows Unocal Canada to initially increase working gascapacity at Aitken by 20% to 48 Bcf as early as the second quarter.Ultimately, working gas capacity could increase to 80 Bcf, doublethe current capacity.

The expansion anticipates a connection with the planned AlliancePipeline, which is expected to begin deliveries from western Canadato the U.S. Midwest in 2000. Aitken Creek is in northeast BritishColumbia and is connected to the Westcoast Transmission System. Gasfrom the facility currently serves markets in western Canada andthe U.S. Pacific Northwest. Services offered include firm storage,parking, loaning, and other marketing services. Unocal Canada isoperator and owns a 93.79% working interest in the facility. Theremaining interest is owned by Amoco Canada Petroleum Co. Ltd.

According to Jim Avioli, Unocal Canada manager of natural gasmarketing, current sustainable withdrawal capability is about 270MMcf/d with peak capability of about 400 MMcf/d. Injectioncapability is about 270 MMcf/d. Post expansion, sustainablewithdrawal capability will be about 320 to 325 MMcf/d with peak at400 to 450 MMcf/d. Injection capability will remain about 270MMcf/d

Westcoast doesn’t have available capacity to fill the additionalstorage, so Unocal Canada will most likely wait for Alliance tocome on line; however, Avioli said the company is examining otheroptions to bring the project on line before Alliance. “We haven’treally put the hard sell out for the expansion. We’ve got theapproval to do it.”

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