APTN National News
Ottawa is expected to announce its decision on the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline and Line 3 pipeline late Tuesday afternoon.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is scheduled to talk to media at 4:30ET at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa.
Here is some of the details about each project.
Northern Gateway project
Estimated Cost: $7.9 billion
Route: 1,177 kilometres from Bruderheim, northeast of Edmonton, to a tanker port in Kitimat on the northern coast of B.C.
Capacity: A westbound pipeline would ship up to 525,000 barrels of oil per day to Kitimat for export to Asian markets. A second pipeline heading east would carry 193,000 barrels per day of natural gas condensate, which is used to dilute the molasses-like oilsands bitumen to allow it to flow. A terminal would be built in Kitimat that would include two ship berths and 19 storage tanks for oil and condensate. The terminal would have the capacity to serve about 220 tankers per year.
Background: The National Energy Board ruled in December 2013 that Northern Gateway was in the national interest, subject to 209 conditions. The previous federal Conservative government approved the project in 2014. But this past June, the Federal Court of Appeal overturned that decision, concluding that the government had failed in its duty to consult with FirstNations people.
Line 3 Pipeline
The lesser known of the major pipeline projects.
According to Enbridge, the $7.5-billion Line 3 replacement program is the largest project in Enbridge history.
Estimated Cost: $7.5 billion
Route: 1,660 kilometres from Hardisty, Alberta to Superior, Wisconson.
This is a replacement project. According the the National Energy Board (NEB), the project is in the Canadian public interest and not cause a significant adverse environmental effect. According to the NEB, the replacement pipeline will carry the original pipeline’s capacity of 760,000 barrels of oil per day. The majority of the Line 3 replacement pipeline will be constructed within a right of way that parallels and overlaps existing Enbridge pipeline rights of way, including the Enbridge Mainline corridor.
— with files from the Canadian Press
