What are the pipeline benefits for Saint John?
What will we see after the pipeline is installed?
Will there be more than one pipeline?
What kind of activities can be conducted over the buried pipeline?
What other places have pipelines under parks and residential areas?
How do you prevent a pipeline from corroding?
Why do we need an additional source of natural gas in Atlantic Canada?
What benefits does this project bring to Saint John and other parts of New Brunswick?
- The pipeline provides a long-term supply of natural gas to help position Saint John as a regional energy hub.
- This natural gas is a reinforcement of the natural gas now available via the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline (M&NP) system and delivered in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and New England.
- Property taxes for the Brunswick Pipeline are estimated to be $3.3 million per year. A portion of these revenues stay with the Provincial government, but the remainder is spread between the communities along the pipeline route.
- The pipeline is completely buried.
- There are three valve stations in Saint John, and three in the rural spread. These sites are secured and monitored electronically 24/7.
- There are no valve sites in Rockwood Park.
- Small identification signs indicate that a pipeline is present and occasional plastic posts containing test wires are used to monitor the pipeline.
- No, the NEB has approved only one pipeline.
- It is safe to walk, bike and ski over the pipeline.
- Where the pipeline crosses under existing roads, it is designed to allow cars, trucks and other vehicles to continue using the road as before. There are thousands of cars crossing other buried pipelines in New Brunswick every day.
- There are pipelines buried under parks in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
- Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline is a 30-inch pipeline that delivers natural gas throughout New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and New England. Near Boston it passes through residential and commercial areas in Haverhill and Methuen, Massachusetts.
- Pipelines as large as 48 inches in diameter travel through urban areas (in southwestern Ontario) including Windsor, Cambridge, Milton, and Mississauga.
- Similar pipelines pass through the areas of Toronto, Hamilton, Kingston, Ottawa, and Montreal.
- In Western Canada, similar pipelines pass through Edmonton, Calgary, Regina, and Winnipeg.
- Duke Energy operates pipelines in Western Canada that run through Fort St. John and Chilliwack, BC.
The pipeline industry has advanced substantially over the past 20 years. Modern pipeline design, advances in metallurgy, improvements in maintenance procedures and pipeline integrity programs help to prevent corrosion and provide reliable service.
The entire outside surface of the steel pipe including the welds is coated with a protective epoxy to help prevent corrosion. The inside of the pipe is also coated.
An additional corrosion prevention measure is the cathodic protection system. This imparts a low voltage current on the pipe. This current keeps the iron molecules in the steel from bonding with any water molecules that find their way through the coating. This current is monitored by field technicians throughout the life of the pipeline to ensure it is working properly and no corrosion is taking place.
During operations, monitoring includes in-line inspection or “pigging” in which electronic tools are placed inside the pipeline to clean and thoroughly inspect it. These monitoring measures help ensure that steps can be taken immediately to avoid any potential problem or, if necessary, make repairs.
At present there is only one source of natural gas feeding the entire Atlantic Canadian market. That is the natural gas from Sable Offshore Energy Inc in Nova Scotia. The Sable reserves are being depleted and replacement drilling for a replacement supply is just beginning with the Deep Panuke project. Although the Corridor Resources project near Sussex is contributing natural gas, it is too small to replace Sable volumes. Gas supply is needed to allow businesses, residents and electric utilities that have invested in the equipment to burn natural gas to continue to take advantage of their investment and burn a clean and economical fuel.
Together with the Canaport™ LNG terminal in Saint John, the Brunswick Pipeline will have far–reaching benefits for the region and province. The two projects combined have brought over $1 billion of new energy investment to New Brunswick.
For every dollar invested, it is estimated that another spin-off dollar will be created to benefit the hospitality, hotel and retail sectors.
The LNG terminal and natural gas pipeline help position Saint John as a major energy hub in North America, generating more investment and creating jobs to attract and retain skilled workers.