5,000 jobs promised in pipeline project

$4-billion Enbridge proposal would build dual lines from Kitimat to Alberta

Scott Simpson
Vancouver Sun
Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. is promising British Columbia 5,000 construction jobs and more than $1 billion in economic benefits from a project billed as the largest petroleum pipeline undertaking in North America in more than 50 years.

Enbridge Gateway Pipelines president Art Meyer, keynote speaker at a Vancouver Board of Trade luncheon on Tuesday, described the $4-billion project as "one of the largest private infrastructure investments in the history of British Columbia."

Enbridge is proposing to construct two side-by-side 1,150 kilometre pipelines extending between Strathcona County near Edmonton and Kitimat on the B.C. coast, as well as a marine shipping terminal in Kitimat.

One line will carry oil from Alberta to the terminal at Kitimat. The other will carry condensate, a fluid used in petroleum refining, from Kitimat to refineries in Alberta.

Enbridge, which already operates the world's longest oil and liquids pipeline, has enough potential customers to fill both new lines to capacity.

A preliminary information package was filed with the National Energy Board last October, and Enbridge is awaiting a detailed response before preparing a final proposal.

Enbridge hopes to start construction by 2008, and be in operation by 2010.

"A project of this magnitude enhances British Columbia's position as the Pacific Gateway and as an international trade destination, strengthens Canada's ability to access additional markets for its energy and natural resources, and sees communities along the corridor benefit," Meyer said in an interview prior to his Board of Trade appearance.

"We see direct and indirect labour income in the order of $2 billion, of which approximately $1 billion would flow into British Columbia. That is a substantial benefit, certainly for the people of British Columbia and for the communities that are along the corridor in North-Central British Columbia.

"We will have a requirement for approximately 5,000 people for two years to build the pipeline. Out of that, we see 25,000 person-years being required in British Columbia. That's construction plus all the services that would support construction."

Meyer said he does not expect Western Canada's ultra-competitive job market to delay the project.

"It takes a couple of years to address the regulatory requirements for this project. That gives us the time to plan and structure the workforce.

"Pipeline contractors in Canada have perhaps not been as busy as some other sectors. Certainly we've got contractors who are more than interested to participate."

He added that the project, which runs east-west across B.C. north of Prince George, will be constructed in a region of the province that has not previously seen a comparable level of industrial investment.

"We are outside some of the real hot spots like the Lower Mainland or Fort St. John.

"It creates a real opportunity for apprenticeships, for people to learn skills and trades -- and from my perspective to leave a legacy of knowledge and skills in the communities, either locally or elsewhere."

He added that timing for the project is good.

"The oilsands provide the strong supply source, California and Asia-Pacific demand provides that market opportunity -- and it's happening at one of those points in time where the stars come into alignment.

"We're seeing incremental production from the oil sands in the order of a million barrels per day over the next four to five years. I think the National Energy Board is forecasting an incremental three million barrels a day by 2015. So we're talking very large volumes of oil coming on."

The oil pipeline can carry 400,000 barrels per day -- but electric-powered compressors along the route can push capacity to 800,000, Meyer said.

Also on Tuesday, a cluster of environmental groups led by Living Oceans Society voiced concern about the prospects of deep-sea oil tankers moving through Douglas Channel -- the primary shipping route out of Kitimat.

The groups are insisting that oil tanker traffic is subject to a federal moratorium off the B.C. coast, although a Transport Canada spokesperson told The Sun that the only such restriction applies to U.S. tankers carrying oil south from Alaska.

"There is no moratorium on tanker traffic to or from B.C. ports," Meyer noted. "Tankers have been moving in and out of Vancouver for many years off the Kinder Morgan pipeline [at Burnaby Mountain].

"We take marine tanker traffic seriously in ensuring that it's managed well from a safety and environmental perspective."

ssimpson@png.canwest.com

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BY THE NUMBERS

The Enbridge Gateway Pipeline project is expected to create thousands of jobs in B.C. during its construction phase, when it eventually gets underway.

$4 billion: Estimated cost of project.

$1.5 billion: Estimated socio-economic benefits to B.C. during construction.

$107 million a year: Estimated socio-economic benefits to B.C. once in operation.

35: Number of permanent jobs at the terminal in Kitimat.

1,150 kilometres: Length of pipeline from Strathcona County, Alta., to Kitimat (another pipeline of equal length will carry condensate, a petroleum product used in oil refining, from Kitimat to Strathcona County).

400,000 barrels: Pipeline's daily capacity.

Hurdles to clear: Subject to approval by the National Energy Board and Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.

Timeline: Project would commence construction in 2008, with completion by 2010.

© The Vancouver Sun 2006