AltaGas commits to building LPG terminal in northwest British Columbia

Calgary, Alberta-based energy company AltaGas has committed to building the first liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) export terminal on Canada’s west coast, according to CBC.

The facility, planned for Ridley Island near Prince Rupert in northwest British Columbia, is estimated to cost $475m and has a completion target of early 2019.

It’s intended to supply markets in Asia – already having an agreement from Japan’s Astomos Energy Corporation to buy half the exports – and to seriously undercut delivery times of rivals shipping from US Gulf of Mexico facilities.

The so-called Ridley Export Terminal is designed to ship 1.2m tonnes of LPG (more commonly known as propane) annually, much of it coming by rail from parts of Western Canada.

Having already gained federal approval for the project, AltaGas had also been in consultation with First Nations (aboriginal Canadians) on whose traditional lands the terminal will be built, before making this Final Investment Decision (FID).

In February 2016 AltaGas had cancelled a similar proposal for a facility at Kitimat, also in northern BC.