Liquified natural gas (LNG) holds a rich history within the energy industry and the growing global demand for reliable, politically stable sources of natural gas has never been more important. LNG is poised to continue to be in high demand as the global and local industry sectors align to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote cleaner energy alternatives.
Investing News Network recently unveiled its ranking of the top 10 countries for natural gas production where Canada prominently resides among the top five. With a substantial portion of Canada’s natural gas originating from Alberta and British Columbia (BC), it isn’t surprising that a unique opportunity for a Canadian LNG industry has blossomed.
As the construction of Canada’s LNG export facility in Kitimat, British Columbia nears completion, the transportation of natural gas between the two western provinces to global markets is even more dependent on a reliant and safe pipeline network. This dependence will grow further as proposed projects in British Columbia secure funding and/or begin construction in Bish Cove, Tilbury Island, and Squamish.
The Westcoast System of natural gas pipelines began operating in 1957 and included 2,900 kilometers (kms) of regulated pipeline and associated infrastructure. The pipeline has been operating for over 60 years and its complexity has compounded via expansions and fixes throughout this time making the data outdated and incomplete for today’s requirements.
Validating the Westcoast System is something the industry wanted to complete to improve development planning, integrity management and regulatory compliance. Industry regulatory partners chose to collaborate with GDM to complete this project by giving GDM access to regulatory instruments that helped GDM update network gaps and validate over 488+ kms of pipelines within the Westcoast System.
In early 2023, GDM began the project to expand, validate, and update the Westcoast System, completing it efficiently within five months’ time. The project’s second phase is set to commence shortly.
Image: Map of gas lines, LNG facilities, compressor stations, and gas plants in British Columbia (Westcoast System). Data provided by GDM Inc.
For over 25 years, upstream and midstream energy companies, in addition to service and regulatory organizations, have relied on GDM’s comprehensive energy infrastructure solutions to plan future development opportunities and ensure existing infrastructure operates effectively.
GDM continuously maintains our infrastructure data by tracking all provincial and federal regulatory approvals and amendments. All data added to our products is proactively validated to ensure consistency and completeness. In BC we have validated the locations for all pipelines whereas other sources are incomplete and missing up to 80% of spatial data on BC pipelines.
GDM is the only company that has access to the expanded data on the Westcoast System and it is now available to all clients who subscribe to GDM Converge and our other data products. GDM is committed to support Canada’s move to help solve the LNG supply challenge by providing world class solutions to support Canada as it makes its plans.
“GDM is fully devoted to aiding Canada in conquering the LNG supply challenge with dependable world class solutions,” emphasizes GDM President, Brian Hall. “Our commitment to collaborating closely with regulators and the industry to enhance the value of our data and identify other ways we can support Canada’s growth in LNG exports continues. There’s much more work ahead.”
For more information or access to the data, contact us.
