Duke Energy received approval from the National Energy Board (NEB) to expand the Fort Nelson Mainline in northeast British Columbia by 43 MMcf/d. The expansion of the former Westcoast Energy system will accommodate the strong production growth in the area.

Duke said the expansion will include the addition of 2.5 miles of 36-inch diameter pipeline on the north end of Duke’s BC system to compressor station N5, which is about 10 miles north of Beryl Prairie in British Columbia. Construction is scheduled for mid-August with an in-service date set for November.

“This increase in transportation service on our Fort Nelson Mainline will meet the immediate needs of producers in the Fort Nelson area — an area where producers are achieving considerable success in adding new reserves and production,” said Doug Haughey, president of DEGT BC Pipeline and Field Services divisions.

Duke subsidiary Westcoast Energy recently told the NEB that it expects a sustained increase in gas exports to the Pacific Northwest of at least 50%, possibly more. The prediction was made in support of an application for a 200 MMcf/d (10%) increase in its BC pipeline system’s capacity to 2.1 Bcf/d. The expansion is expected to be completed in autumn 2003.

Westcoast expects exports to reach 1.345 Bcf/d in 2016 compared to the 891 million it delivered to the U.S. border in 2001 and the 896 MMcf/d it expects to send south this year. The totals exclude expectations for the Alliance Pipeline between Fort St. John in northeastern BC and Chicago, and for the TransCanada-Nova system’s branch lines into the region (see Daily GPI, Aug. 23).

©Copyright 2002 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.