The Westcoast Pipeline, also known as the Westcoast Transmission System or the BC Pipeline, is a

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

pipeline in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

that brings natural gas from the

Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) underlies of Western Canada including southwestern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan, Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories. This vast sedimentary ...

south to the province's heavily populated Lower Mainland (which includes

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

). It connects to the Northwest Pipeline in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and east to

TransCanada pipeline The TransCanada pipeline is a system of natural gas pipelines, up to in diameter, that carries gas through Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. It is maintained by TransCanada PipeLines, LP. It is the longest pipeline in Canad ...

. Built in 1957 by Frank McMahon's Westcoast Transmission Co. Ltd., the 650-mile gas pipeline from

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Pl ...

in north-eastern

to the United States was Canada's first " big-inch" pipeline. From 2002 to 2007, it was owned by Duke Energy of

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. In 2007, Duke's natural gas business was spun off as

Spectra Energy Spectra Energy Corp, headquartered in Houston, Texas, operated in three key areas of the natural gas industry: transmission and storage, distribution, and gathering and processing. Spectra was formed in late 2006 from the spin-off from Duke ...

, which merged with

Enbridge Enbridge Inc. is a multinational pipeline and energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Enbridge owns and operates pipelines throughout Canada and the United States, transporting crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. ...

in 2017. The pipeline experienced an explosion in

Shelley, British Columbia Shelley, northeast of Prince George in central British Columbia, was often misspelled as "Shelly", especially during the earlier years. The First Nations Shelley Reserve No. 1 is on the northwest side of the Fraser River, and the Reserve No. 2, ...

, near Prince George, on October 9, 2018. The explosion forced about 100 members of the Lheidli T'enneh Band to evacuate their homes. Although nobody was hurt in the explosion, and no property was damaged apart from the pipeline itself, the explosion led to shortages of natural gas in British Columbia. In 2019, the affected First Nation filed a lawsuit seeking a permanent injunction which would prevent Enbridge from operating the pipeline in their territory and reserves, and require the company to dismantle the pipeline and restore the affected lands to their natural state. Enbridge has proposed a "reliability and expansion program" which would entail replacing old compressor stations, adding an additional compressor station, and other maintenance activities. This project would increase the pipeline's capacity by per day, and is expected to be completed in late 2021.

References

External links

December 27, 1954 TIME magazine article titled ''The Big Poker Game'' on Frank McMahon's plans for the Westcoast Transmission pipeline

{{Canadian pipelines Transport buildings and structures in British Columbia Natural gas pipelines in Washington (state) Natural gas pipelines in the United States Natural gas pipelines in Canada Duke Energy Enbridge pipelines Enbridge

See also

References

External links