TransCanada plans to build $1.9B gas pipeline to Kitimat

TransCanada Corp. says it plans to build a $1.9-billion pipeline to help feed Chevron Corp. and Apache Corp.'s proposed liquefied natural gas facility near Kitimat, B.C.

The Merrick Mainline Pipeline Project will run 260 kilometres from Dawson Creek, in B.C.'s resource-rich northeast, to Summit Lake, where Chevron and Apache's Pacific Trail Pipeline begins. Pacific Trail will deliver gas the rest of the way to the coast, where the resource will be chilled into a liquid state and exported abroad via tanker.

Chevron and Apache's Canadian subsidiaries have signed an agreement for TransCanada to deliver about 1.9 billion cubic feet per day on the Merrick pipeline.

"The initial work for the project is proceeding well, and we anticipate filing an application with the National Energy Board in the fourth quarter of 2014 for approvals to build and operate the project," TransCanada CEO RussGirling said in a statement.

"Subject to the necessary approvals, we expect the Merrick Mainline to begin service in the first quarter of 2020."

While early work is underway on the Merrick project, construction will only go ahead if it gets the green light from regulators and if Chevron and Apache decide to move ahead with their Kitimat LNG project.

TransCanada expects to file an application to the National Energy Board late this year on the project and will need to undergo an environmental review before it is approved.

With the latest project, TransCanada now has four natural gas pipelines under development in the region totalling $12.6 billion in investment.