Top officials in New Brunswick and Quebec said recently thatthey are near an agreement that would pave the way for theconstruction of a pipeline between the two provinces. New BrunswickPremier Bernard Lord and Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard both saidthey plan to sign the agreement Feb. 28.

“We wish to recognize the advantages associated with integrationof a Canada-wide transportation system which would link productionbasins in western Canada to the Sable Island basin,” Lord told thelegislature earlier this week.

Lord said that the line could be extended from Fredericton toEdmunston in northwestern New Brunswick, close to the Quebec cityof Riviere-du-Loup. “We would hope that our efforts will contributeto ensuring the necessary market to enable a lateral to be builttoward northwestern New Brunswick from an interconnection point,near Fredericton, with the Maritimes & Northeast (M&N)Pipeline system,” the premier said.

Currently, Quebec is served only by the Trans Quebec &Maritimes (TQM) pipeline, which carries western Canadian gas fromTransCanada PipeLines Ltd.’s mainline originating at theAlberta-Saskatchewan border. It extends as far east as Levis, onthe south shore of Quebec City. If this new pipeline is built,M&N’s reach would expand not just south into U.S. markets, butwest into other Canadian markets as well.

New Brunswick, on the other hand, is looking for ways to accessthe bounteous Sable Island Offshore Energy project (SOEP). Gasproduced from Sable Island flows into New England via M&N.

Construction on the SOEP began in January 1998. The owners,Mobil Oil Canada (50.8%), Shell Canada (31.3%), Imperial Oil (9%),Nova Scotia Resources (8.4%) and Mosbacher Operating Limited (5%),estimate the reserve potential of the project at 3.5 Tcf of naturalgas, of which Mobil’s share is 1.8 Tcf.

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