Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines

Northern Gateway West Line
Location
CountryCanada
Province
  • Alberta
  • British Columbia
General directionWest
FromBruderheim, Alberta
ToKitimat, British Columbia
General information
TypeDiluted bitumen
OwnerEnbridge
Technical information
Length1,177 km (731 mi)
Maximum discharge0.525 million barrels per day (~2.62×10^7 t/a)
Diameter36 in (914 mm)
Northern Gateway East Line
Location
CountryCanada
Province
  • British Columbia
  • Alberta
General directionEast
FromKitimat, British Columbia
ToBruderheim, Alberta
General information
TypeNatural Gas Condensate
OwnerEnbridge
Technical information
Length1,177 km (731 mi)
Maximum discharge193,000 barrels (30,700 m3) of condensate per day
Diameter20 in (508 mm)

The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines were a planned-but-never-built project for a twin pipeline from Bruderheim, Alberta, to Kitimat, British Columbia. The project was active from the mid-2000s to 2016. The eastbound pipeline would have imported natural gas condensate, and the westbound pipeline would have exported diluted bitumen from the Athabasca oil sands to a marine terminal in Kitimat for transportation to Asian markets via oil tankers. The project would have also included terminal facilities with "integrated marine infrastructure at tidewater to accommodate loading and unloading of oil and condensate tankers, and marine transportation of oil and condensate."[1] The CA$7.9 billion[2] project was first proposed in the mid-2000s but was postponed several times. The project plan was developed by Enbridge Inc., a Canadian crude oil and liquids pipeline and storage company.

When completed, the pipeline and terminal would have provided 104 permanent operating positions created within the company and 113 positions with the associated marine services.[3] First Nations groups, many municipalities, including the Union of BC Municipalities, environmentalists and oil sands opponents, among others, denounced the project because of the environmental, economic, social and cultural risks posed by the pipeline. Proponents argued that the pipeline would have provided Indigenous communities with equity ownership, employment, community trust and stewardship programs. The Federal Court of Appeal ultimately ruled that consultation with First Nations was inadequate and overturned the approval.

The proposal was heavily criticized by Indigenous peoples.[4] Groups like the Yinka Dene Alliance organized to campaign against the project. In December 2010, 66 First Nations bands in British Columbia, including many along the proposed pipeline route, signed the Save the Fraser Declaration in opposition to the project, and 40 more signed since that time.[5] The proposal was also opposed by numerous non-governmental organizations, which cite previous spills,[6] concerns over oil sands expansion, and associated risks in transportation.[2]

In June 2014 the Northern Gateway pipeline project was approved by the federal government, subject to 209 conditions.[2] In 2015 the CBC questioned the silence concerning the Northern Gateway project and suggested that Enbridge might have quietly shelved the project.[2] Upon taking office in 2015, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau banned oil tanker traffic on the north coast of British Columbia, effectively killing the project.[7] On 29 November 2016 Trudeau officially rejected plans for the pipelines.

  1. ^ "Piping Up Against Enbridge: Nature Canada Signs Letter of Protest". Nature Canada. 30 March 2010. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d Johnson, Tracy (20 February 2015), "Is Northern Gateway quietly being shelved? Enbridge reports 2014 earnings with little mention of the pipeline", CBC, archived from the original on 23 February 2015, retrieved 25 February 2015
  3. ^ "Benefits for Canadians". Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  4. ^ Polczer, Shaun (21 January 2010). "Panel struck to review pipeline to West Coast. Enbridge plan to undergo scrutiny". Calgary Herald. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  5. ^ "B.C. natives protest Enbridge pipeline". The Canadian Press. 2 December 2010. Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  6. ^ Martin, Tim (28 July 2010). "Three million litres of oil spill from Enbridge pipeline into Michigan river". Toronto. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
  7. ^ Hunter, Justine; Tait, Carrie (5 December 2015). "Why the Northern Gateway Pipeline is Probably Dead". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 10 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.