Pipeline expansion would accommodate Canadian gas

By Andy Kekacs
Waldo Village Soup
19-Jan-2006

MIDCOAST (Jan 19): The proposed expansion of the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline would more than triple its capacity and allow the pipeline to transport fuel from two new liquefied natural gas terminals in the Maritimes.

Marylee Hanley, manager of government and public affairs for M&N, said the pipeline is currently able to transport about 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. The fuel originates at the Sable Island natural gas fields off Nova Scotia.

Last summer, M&N announced that it had reached agreements to transport an additional 813 million cubic feet of natural gas daily from the Bear Head LNG terminal near Point Tupper, Nova Scotia, and 750 million cubic feet daily from the Canaport LNG terminal near St. John, New Brunswick. The terminals are expected to begin production in 2008.

"We are an open-access pipeline," said Hanley. "We are required by law to negotiate in good faith and provide access [to natural gas producers that want to use the pipeline.]"

Maritimes & Northeast is owned by a consortium of major energy firms. Duke Energy holds 77.5 percent, while Emera Inc. owns 12 percent and Exxon Mobil has 9.5 percent.

The proposed expansion would result in substantial changes to the $1.2 billion pipeline. The 305-mile section from the Canadian border at Baileyville to Dracut, Mass., currently 24 or 30 inches in diameter, has two compressor stations that boost the velocity of the gas as it travels in the pipeline.

M&N seeks to build new compressor stations in Searsmont, Brewer, Westbrook, Eliot and on Woodchopping Ridge in northeast Hancock County, plus one in northeastern Massachusetts. The compressor station at Richmond would be upgraded, and other modifications would be made at meter stations in Baileyville and in Massachusetts.

The Maritimes & Northeast pipeline crosses Maine from Baileyville to Eliot. (Image courtesy of Maritimes & Northeast)

An additional 144.5 miles of 36-inch and 1.7 miles of 30-inch pipeline would also be built. That includes a 23.6-mile section from Brewer to northeastern Waldo County, and a 21.7-mile section from Searsmont through northern Knox and Lincoln counties.

Hanley said the existing pipeline corridor is not wide enough to accommodate the new construction. The company seeks to buy additional rights of way from neighboring landowners. If the project is approved by federal regulators, M&N will have the power to take land it needs by eminent domain, if necessary, to complete the pipeline.

There is little evidence of the buried Maritimes & Northeast pipeline, which crosses Waldo, Knox and Lincoln counties carrying natural gas from Nova Scotia. (Photo by Tina Shute)

The future of natural gas production near Sable Island is clouded. Once touted as the first reliable, regional source of energy for New England and the Maritimes, estimates of natural gas reserves at Sable Island have been cut at least three times. The field is now believed to hold about 1.35 trillion cubic feet of gas, down from an original estimate of 3.6 trillion cubic feet.

Despite a reduction in Sable Island gas production, the M&N pipeline is operating near capacity. The expansion is needed to accommodate the new sources of gas from LNG facilities in the Maritimes, according to Hanley.

M&N has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to begin a review of the proposal. The commission regulates wholesale electricity sales, issues licenses to hydroelectric projects, approves the construction of gas pipelines and LNG terminals, and regulates the interstate transmission of gas, oil and electricity. FERC recently completed a series of public "scoping" meetings in Maine and Massachusetts to identify issues surrounding the pipeline proposal.

FERC has already ruled that an environmental impact statement must be prepared for the expansion. The EIS will look at the project's impacts on soils, land use, water resources, wildlife, air quality, hazardous waste, cultural resources and public safety.

Posted by Arthur Caldicott on 20 Jan 2006