TransCanada wants to expand one of its pipelines to connect with a methanol facility proposed for south of Grande Prairie. It has approved an $85 million expansion of its NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. System that would connect its natural gas supply to Nauticol Energy’s plant.
“Connecting Nauticol’s Grande Prairie facility to NGTL increases the reliability of gas transportation and creates a competitive advantage compared to other gas transportation alternatives,” says Nauticol President & CEO Mark Tonner. “This allows Nauticol access to multiple natural gas producer options which best serve our operational needs to consume significant volumes of natural gas from Alberta.”
The Calgary-based company wants to build the $2 billion facility on part of International Paper’s land that is currently being used for waste. It reportedly has firm long-term contracts for 308 million cubic feet per day starting September 2021.
TransCanada’s plan is to add 28 kilometres of pipe and a new delivery meter station. It’s slated to apply to the National Energy Board to build and operate them in the first quarter of 2020. If approved, construction could start as early as the fourth quarter of that year.
Nauticol’s plant also still needs regulatory permits. When first announced, the plan was to produce one million metric tonnes of methanol a year starting in 2021 and another two million more a year later.