AltaGas Ltd. (Calgary) has entered into a definitive project agreement for the development of a propane export facility in British Columbia. The company reports it is negotiating formal agreements and working on consultations with First Nations and stakeholders to commence the regulatory and permitting process for the export terminal, a facility that will be designed to initially ship 1.2 million tonnes a year. AltaGas notes it will move forward with a final investment decision once consultations with First Nations representatives and stakeholders and regulatory approvals are complete.

Preliminary engineering has been completed and a front-end engineering and design study will be initiated shortly. The facility, if constructed, would be the first export terminal on the British Columbia coast. The site is reported to have been chosen, and plans also call for construction of a new fractionator in northeastern British Columbia to ensure supply.

“On the growth front, we are well on our way to provide producers with a solution to weak liquids prices,” said AltaGas chairman and CEO David Cornhill on a conference call discussing the company’s quarterly results. He added that his company could invest more than $1 billion in British Columbia over the next two years, including the export facility on the coast, the new fractionator at Fort St. John, and the previously announced $350-million Townsend gas
plant in northeastern British Columbia, along with associated pipelines.