|
“The addition of the Gros Cacouna receipt point and the application of the existing toll methodology will facilitate the attachment of this new source of supply to the Mainline and result in consistent tolling treatment for all receipt points in the eastern market area,” says Steve Pohlod, TransCanada’s vice-president, Commercial East of the Canadian Pipelines division. “Receipt points to connect new LNG supplies to the Mainline System will deliver clear benefits to our customer’s eastern markets for years to come, and will help to ensure these markets have cost effective access to as broad a range of supply sources on our system as possible. This application is the first step in our direct involvement in bringing additional LNG supplies to eastern markets and part of our ongoing commitment to meet the expected long-term demand growth of our eastern customers.”
A joint venture between TransCanada and Petro-Canada, the proposed Cacouna Energy LNG terminal will be located 240 km north east of the terminus of the existing TQM system at St. Nicolas. The average annual capacity of the terminal will be 500 MMcf/d.
The proposed Cacouna Energy LNG project will introduce a new source of gas supply to the TQM system, an interconnecting pipeline on which TransCanada currently has a contract for transportation services. Specifically, the receipt point will permit the introduction of approximately 525 TJ/d of contracted transportation at the eastern most point of the integrated system, resulting in east-to-west gas flow on portions of the integrated system that currently flow in a west-to-east direction. The Cacouna Energy LNG terminal will require a 240 km pipeline extension, compression, metering and other system modifications on the TQM System. Investments on the Mainline System include compression, yard-piping, metering and system modifications at Les Cedres, Quèbec. The total estimated facilities costs are $738 million.
The application is being made now because certainty of gas transportation and the applicable tolling methodology are required before Petro-Canada executes contractual commitments for offshore LNG supplies, and before re-gasification facilities are constructed. Approval of the application will allow time for the required Mainline and TQM facilities applications and construction related activities such as environmental engineering assessments and material procurements, which are necessary in order to meet the FT service start date of Dec. 1, 2009.
The receipt point evaluation was extensive and followed defined procedures. The evaluation considered toll impacts, operational and system design impacts, contractual impacts and other relevant considerations. The conclusion was that the new receipt point will not adversely impact operations, system design or contracts. In addition, use of the new receipt point will result in relatively small economic impact to existing shippers under the existing toll methodology. Following a comprehensive review of various toll methodologies TransCanada, and a third party consultant, also concluded the current toll methodology is appropriate as the additional facilities and services are integrated with the existing integrated system.
For more information, contact Don Bell at 416.869.2191.
|
