The status of each major project in the Heartland is indicated below. Please contact the individual companies directly for additional information.
Active Projects Announced or Under Construction:
| Access Pipeline | |
| Location | Sturgeon County |
| Project Description | Northeast Expansion: 42" pipeline from Christina Lake, AB to Access' Sturgeon Terminal near Redwater; initial capacity of 350,000 barrels of blended bitumen per day |
| Capital Cost | $1 billion |
| Status |
Received regulatory approval in November 2012; construction began in early 2013 with nearly 600 construction workers active on the project; pipeline scheduled to be operational by 2015 |
| Alberta Carbon Trunk Line | |
| Location |
Capture sites: Agrium Fertilizer Plant and North West Sturgeon Refinery, both located in Sturgeon County |
| Project Description |
Enhance Energy is building the Alberta Carbon Trunk Line (ACTL). The ACTL is a 240 kilometre pipeline that will collect CO2 from industrial emitters in and around Alberta’s Industrial Heartland and transport it to aging reservoirs throughout central and southern Alberta for secure storage in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects. At full capacity the ACTL route will provide access to reservoirs capable of producing an additional one billion barrels of high quality light crude oil. These reservoirs will safely and securely store 14.6 million tonnes of CO2 per year as the oil is produced. At full capacity this will be equivalent to removing 2.6 million cars from Alberta’s roads. The ACTL will be the largest carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in the world. The ACTL will lay the groundwork for a cost effective industry-wide solution to the management of CO2 emissions from Alberta’s upgrading, refining, power generation and petrochemical operations. The ACTL will form the backbone of a growing CO2 gathering and transportation infrastructure which encourages and enables wide scale CCS implementation. |
| Capital Cost | Total project costs close to $1 billion |
| Status | Pipeline regulatory approval received in 2011; engineering and work on capture facilities at Agrium currently underway; work on facilities at North West Redwater Partnership's Sturgeon Refinery will occur in conjuction with refinery construction |
| Alberta Sulphur Terminals Ltd (Tervita) | |
| Location | Lamont County |
| Project Description | Sulphur forming and shipping facility |
| Capital Cost | $30 million |
| Status | Regulatory approval received in August 2009; construction will depend on timing and construction of upgraders in the Heartland area |
| BA Energy (Value Creation) | |
| Location | Strathcona County |
| Project Description | 260,000 barrel/day diluted bitumen upgrader |
| Capital Cost | Under review |
| Status | Construction suspended in 2008; commercial and engineering work continues with the view to recommence the project |
| Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines | |
| Location | Pipeline from Bruderheim, AB to Kitimat, BC |
| Project Description |
Proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines project includes two adjacent 1,177 km pipelines between Bruderheim, Alberta and a deepwater terminal and tank farm in Kitimat, BC; the oil pipeline will carry 525,000 barrels of oil per day from Bruderheim to Kitimat and the second pipeline will carry 193,000 barrels of condensate per day from Kitimat to Bruderheim |
| Capital Cost | $6 billion |
| Status |
Regulatory application submitted in 2010; Joint Review Panel final hearings currently underway with a decision expected end-2013; pending regulatory approval, construction will begin in 2014 with target completion in 2018 |
| Graymont | |
| Location | Lamont County |
| Project Description | Lime hydrating and distribution facility |
| Capital Cost | Unknown |
| Status |
Announced project November 2012; pending approval from Lamont County, construction is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2013 with completion of the facility targeted for the second half of 2014 |
| Keyera | |
| Location | Fort Saskatchewan |
| Project Description |
30,000 barrel per day de-ethanizer which will allow Keyera to process an ethane-rich stream of NGLs creating specification ethane for delivery to petrochemical producers in Alberta and a propane-rich stream of NGLs for delivery into Keyera’s fractionation facilities |
| Capital Cost | $110 million |
| Status |
Announced plans for the project September 2012; detailed engineering work is currently underway and certain long-lead items have already been ordered; targeting completion mid-2014 |
| Maxim Power Corporation | |
| Location | Lamont County |
| Project Description | The Deerland Peaking Station will be a natural-gas-fired power generation facility that produces 190 MW |
| Capital Cost | $200 million |
| Status |
Announced May 2012, Maxim has entered into agreements to secure firm natural gas transportation service for the Deerland Peaking Station; project has received all required regulatory approvals for construction and operation; construction commenced in 2012 and Maxim anticipates the facility will commission in Q4 2013 |
| MEG Energy Stonefell Terminal | |
| Location | Strathcona County |
| Project Description | Terminal and tank facility with a 900,000 barrel storage capacity; Stonefell will be tied into Access Pipeline with planned connections to other regional pipeline and rail transportation infrastructure |
| Capital Cost | $200 million |
| Status |
Under construction with target completion in mid-2013 |
| MEG Energy HI-Q Field Demonstration Pilot | |
| Location | Lamont County near Bruderheim |
| Project Description | 1,500-3,000 barrel per day demonstration project to continue research and application of new technology that would allow bitumen to be shipped in pipelines without blending with light hydrocarbons |
| Capital Cost | Unknown |
| Status |
Regulatory application submitted in early 2013; pending regulatory approval, target construction start in 2013, with target completion mid-2014 |
| North West Redwater Partnership | |
| Location | Sturgeon County |
| Project Description | 150,000 barrel/day bitumen upgrader and diesel refinery (over 3 phases); the facility will capture 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 per year per phase, which will be sold for use in enhanced oil recovery before being sequestered |
| Capital Cost | $5.7 billion for phase 1 (50,000 barrels per day) |
| Status |
Sanction decision was announced by the Partnership November 2012. NWR currently has a team of over 300 people working on the project and expects to employ over 8,000 people during peak construction, including sub-suppliers and module fabrication yards. The first 50,000 barrels per day phase of the bitumen refinery has a cost estimate of $5.7 billion and is expected to take approximately three years to build, with above ground construction starting in spring 2013.The facility is expected to be operational in 2016, with phases 2 and 3 to follow upon separate sanctioning. Click here for sanction announcement media release - November 8, 2012 |
| Sasol | |
| Location | Strathcona County |
| Project Description |
The gas-to-liquids facility would convert natural gas into high-quality transportation fuels and petrochemical feedstocks |
| Capital Cost | Multi billion |
| Status |
Project feasibility study completed in 2012; preparation of regulatory application underway; announced in December 2012 plans to exercise their option to purchase project site in Strathcona County from Total |
| Shell Quest Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Project | |
| Location | Strathcona County |
| Project Description |
Quest is a fully integrated CCS project, meaning it would capture, transport, inject and store carbon dioxide (CO2); over one million tonnes of CO2 per year would be captured per year from the Scotford Upgrader beginning around 2015; the CO2 would then be transported safely by pipeline to an injection location north of Shell Scotford and stored permanently more than two kilometres deep under thick layers of impermeable geological formations |
| Capital Cost | $1.35 billion (government estimate includes both capital costs as well as operating costs for 10 years) |
| Status |
Quest received regulatory approval for the project from the ERCB in July 2012; Shell began construction on the project in September 2012 |
| TransCanada Grand Rapids Pipeline | |
| Location |
Two parallel pipelines, approximately 500 km in length, from approximately 30 km northwest of Fort McMurray to the Edmonton area; associated Pipeline Installations will include: seven pump stations, four tank farms as well as two loading/unloading terminals |
| Project Description |
The project will consist of a dual pipeline system to transport crude oil and diluent between northern Alberta and the Heartland region; project includes the following components: crude oil pipeline designed and constructed to move blended bitumen from northwest of Fort McMurray to the Edmonton market, a diluent pipeline designed and constructed to move diluent from the Edmonton market to northwest of Fort McMurray, and associated facilities along the pipeline system, including pump stations, tank farms and loading/unloading terminals |
| Capital Cost | $3 billion |
| Status |
Proposed project was announced in October 2012; regulatory approval will be sought in the spring of 2013; pending approval, construction will commence in the summer/fall of 2014 with target in-service in 2017 |
| TransCanada TC Terminals | |
| Location | Strathcona County |
| Project Description |
TransCanada is currently looking at the viability to construct a potential terminal project that would include up to six crude oil storage tanks with a total storage capacity of up to 1.9 million barrels; facility will occupy approximately 320 acres of current TransCanada owned lands |
| Capital Cost | Approximately $300 million |
| Status |
Subject to receiving commercial support, regulatory application would be submitted in spring 2013; pending regulatory approval, construction will begin in spring 2014 with a target in-service date in the second half of 2015 |
| Williams Boreal Pipeline | |
| Location | Sturgeon County |
| Project Description | The 12 inch Williams Boreal Pipeline is proposed to transport high vapour pressure liquids 420 kilometres from Fort McMurray to Sturgeon County |
| Capital Cost | Unknown |
| Status |
Williams completed construction of the Boreal Pipeline in March 2012 and successfully commissioned the pipeline in May/June 2012; the pipeline is operational now and Williams is completing final clean-up on portions of the right-of-way from the Fort McMurray area to the Redwater Fractionation and Storage Facility |
| Williams PDH Facility | |
| Location | Strathcona County |
| Project Description |
The facility is designed to convert propane into higher value propylene and will be the first and only of its kind in Canada; will have an initial capacity of approximately 500 kilotonnes annually of polymer-grade propylene with the ability to double capacity upon future expansion |
| Capital Cost | $900 million |
| Status |
Williams announced construction sanction decision in March 2013; pending necessary permits and approvals, the facility is expected to be in service in the second quarter of 2016 |
| Williams (Debottlenecking) | |
| Location | Sturgeon County |
| Project Description | Modifications to the existing fractionation and storage Redwater Facility to allow for CNRL Horizon offgas liquids |
| Capital Cost | Unknown |
| Status |
Williams is progressing on detailed engineering; estimated start up is May 2015 |
| Williams / Pembina Pipeline Corporation | |
| Location | Sturgeon County |
| Project Description | Modification to the existing fractionation and storage Redwater Facility to allow for extraction of ethane/ethylene as a marketable product and transport to customers via existing pipelines |
| Capital Cost | Unknown |
| Status | Williams and Pembina Pipeline Corporation are working interest partners in the Redwater Facility with Williams being the owner and Pembina being the operator; received regulatory permits in early June 2012; construction began in late June 2012 with an in-service target of Q3 2013 |
Deferred or Withdrawn Projects:
| Fort Hills Energy Ltd Partnership | |
| Location | Sturgeon County |
| Project Description | 350,000 barrel/day bitumen upgrader |
| Capital Cost | Unknown |
| Status | A joint venture between Suncor, Total and Teck Cominco; merger between Suncor and Petro-Canada completed in August 2009; project has received all regulatory approvals from ERCB and Alberta Environment; future construction is dependent on review currently underway at Suncor regarding the timing of their bitumen extraction and upgrading assets; the sale of UTS's 20% share of the Fort Hills project to Total E&P Canada has been completed. |
| Kinder Morgan | |
| Location | Strathcona County |
| Project Description | Sulphur forming and handling facility |
| Capital Cost | $50 - $60 million |
| Status | Project deferred |
| King Tech Maple Resources | |
| Location | Strathcona County |
| Project Description | Spent catalyst recovery |
| Capital Cost | Unknown |
| Status | Project deferred |
| StatOil Canada Ltd | |
| Location | Strathcona County |
| Project Description | 240,000 barrel/day bitumen upgrader |
| Capital Cost | $14.4 billion |
| Status | Company withdrew regulatory application in 2008 |
| Total E&P Canada | |
| Location | Strathcona County |
| Project Description | 295,000 barrel/day bitumen upgrader |
| Capital Cost | $7 - 9 billion |
| Status | Project deferred; joint venture announced in December 2010 with Suncor to proceed with projects in the Fort McMurray area instead; received ERCB approval in September 2010 |
This information was last reviewed on March 18, 2013
Information above is believed to be correct; however, please contact each company to confirm details.