Invited to the Table: Energy East Pipeline Feeds a Nation

Nothing could be more exciting for Canada than learning that one of North America’s leading energy infrastructure companies has invited all its citizens to share in the benefits of its most ambitious pipeline project to date. On August 1, 2013, TransCanada announced its intent to build the Energy East Pipeline, a $12-billion project that will involve converting a portion of the company’s Canadian Mainline natural gas pipeline into a west-east conduit for crude oil.

Energy East is preparing to tap the keg of prosperity to serve a nation with the promise of interprovincial commerce, job creation, and realizing better value for Canada’s natural resources, Energy East aims to provide greater market access for Canada’s energy industry by literally connecting its provinces, with receipt points in Alberta and Saskatchewan, to provide refineries in Montreal, Lévis, and Saint John’s with crude oil from Western Canada, as well as create export terminals in Québec and New Brunswick.

In reference to the results of the “Open Season,” an industry term inviting commercial interest in the pipeline, Russ Girling, TransCanada’s president and CEO. said, “This response confirms the overwhelming industry support for innovative solutions to move crude oil to markets in Eastern Canada and to elsewhere in the safest, most efficient means possible, which is in a pipeline.” He adds that Canadian refiners are eager for access to Western Canadian supply, as of most what they refine now is imported from overseas for the production of gas, diesel and other carbon-based fuels.

At the same time, TransCanada is reassuring residents of Ontario and Québec that they will continue to receive the natural gas they require, and that the cost of natural gas transmission in those provinces does not increase as a result of Energy East.

Map for the Energy East Pipeline.

“Energy East will give new purpose to the underutilized capacity of our Mainline, making it more competitive and attractive for our natural gas customers,” say’s Girling. “We are committed to maximizing the utilization and benefits of our infrastructure for all customers –gas and oil–and we are committed to ensuring sufficient capacity is available to meet all their growing needs.”

Benefits of Energy East:

Thousands of new jobs created (laborers, entrepreneurs, service industries, professionals).
New revenues and business opportunities for entrepreneurs.
Lower cost energy sources.
Reduction on foreign oil dependency.
Funded privately.
Access for other Canadian production companies to tidewater for export.

Details of the Project:

3,000 km of Mainline will be converted between Burstall, SK, and Cornwall, ON.
1,500 km of new pipe constructed in AB, SK, MB, QB, and NB.
Capacity to transport 1.1 million barrels of crude daily from Hardisty, AB, and SE Sask. terminal (not yet built) to serve eastern markets.
Energy East will supply eastern refineries with a more reliable domestic supply of oil from Western Canada and will potentially replace more than 700,000 bbl/d of oil, of which 86% is currently imported oil from foreign countries like Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Venezuela, and Algeria.

Altering the Landscape:

Approximately 180 First Nation and Métis communities currently live along the proposed pipeline route. According to Alex Pourbaix, president of Energy and Oil Pipelines, “these
residents, like all of our estimated 100,000 stakeholders on this project, will be consulted extensively about their concerns and their insights into local conditions and local circumstances … their advice will help us select the best possible route for this pipeline.”

Environment and Safety:

It seems one of the loudest cries heard inside all arenas within the energy industry is the environmental cry. TransCanada is doing its very best to assure all concerned that Energy East will work with all parties involved, while fielding all concerns as they relate to the pipeline. “Seventy percent of the needed pipe for the project is already in the ground and does not need to be dug up for this conversion to occur,” says Pourbaix.

TransCanada plans to replace existing compressor stations along the converted Mainline portion with pump stations. These pump stations will be powered by electricity and will have no direct emissions, meaning they will have minimal environmental impact –a consistent theme with Energy East.

Numerous studies have proven the safest way to transport oil is via a pipeline. In 2012 alone, TransCanada invested $1-billion in pipeline safety and integrity programs to ensure the safety of its assets and the environment in which they operate.

With broad support expressed for Energy East from politicians across the country and around the political spectrum, optimism for Energy East is high. Sound rationale aside, TransCanada as a corporation has a very large task ahead. The company plans to file its formal application for the project with the National Energy Board next year, with hopes that it will be able to begin construction on the pipeline in 2016, followed by service beginning in 2017 to Québec and 2018 to Saint John’s.

Energy East is just one of the $38-billion in pipeline and power generation projects underway for TransCanada. This ambitious company can only hope that its other big projects will receive such a congenial reception from Canadians.

Gdp Impact Of Project By Province (2013 $Millions) – Deloitte Study

	Development and Construction Phase (6 years)	Operations Phase (40 years)	Combined
Ontario	2,694	10,335	13,029
Alberta	1,742	6,128	7,870
Quebec	3,114	3,236	6,350
New Brunswick	1,170	1,629	2,799
Saskatchewan	577	1,980	2,557
Manitoba	361	1,446	1,807
British Columbia	244	396	640
Others	144	147	291
TOTAL	10,046	25,297	35,343

Total Government Tax Revenue, By Province (2013 $M) – Deloitte Study

	Development and Construction Phase (6 years)	Operations Phase (40 years)	Combined
Ontario	798	2,864	3,662
Alberta	463	1,734	2,197
Quebec	1,089	936	2,025
New Brunswick	194	627	821
Saskatchewan	266	428	694
Manitoba	111	505	616
British Columbia	59	82	141
Others	34	29	63
TOTAL	3,014	7,204	10,218

FTE Job Creation Per Year, By Province, Operations Phase – Deloitte Study

	Operations Phase ( 40 years)
	Direct	Indirect	Induced	TOTAL
Ontario	181	1,086	539	1,806
Alberta	418	200	261	879
Quebec	203	162	172	537
New Brunswick	121	205	59	385
Saskatchewan	70	126	69	265
Manitoba	94	97	56	247
British Columbia	0	37	63	100
Others	0	15	18	33
TOTAL	1,087	1,928	1,237	4,252

FTE Job Creation Per Year, By Province, Development And Construction Phase – Deloitte Study

	Development Phase (3 years)				Construction Phase (3 years)
	Direct	Indirect	Induced	TOTAL	Direct	Indirect	Induced	TOTAL
Ontario	837	878	502	2,217	2,764	2,899	1,656	7,319
Alberta	528	854	500	1,882	1,743	2,819	1,652	6,214
Quebec	382	510	241	1,133	1,260	1,684	796	3,740
New Brunswick	332	407	129	868	1,095	1,344	427	2,866
Saskatchewan	159	215	76	450	524	711	250	1,485
Manitoba	104	97	52	253	343	320	170	833
British Columbia	0	116	88	204	0	383	390	673
Others	0	75	36	111	0	247	121	368
TOTAL	2,342	3,152	1,624	7,118	7,729	10,407	5,362	23,498

About TransCanada

TransCanada is a leader in the responsible development and reliable operation of North American energy infrastructure.

Natural Gas

TransCanada moves 14 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas per day, (20% of North American total consumption), delivering to local distribution companies and businesses across Canada and the U.S.
Network of approximately 68,500 km (42,500 mi.) natural gas pipelines connect virtually every major natural gas supply basin and market.

Gas Storage

TransCanada is one of the largest developers of new storage facilities and providers of underground natural gas storage services in the U.S.
Offer approximately 400 Bcf of natural gas storage capacity.

Power Generation

Includes hydro, simple cycle, combined cycle, and natural gas-fired cogeneration plants.
Plants across North America make innovative use of natural gas, cogeneration, and waste by-products, such as waste heat exhaust from nearby pipeline compressor stations.