The Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) is of key importance to the Canadian economy. Given the pace of production of natural gas in Alberta and British Columbia (BC), the most important issue for WCSB producers is getting their product to market.
The NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) System is TC Energy’s natural gas gathering and transportation system for the WCSB, connecting most of the natural gas production in western Canada to domestic and export markets. Spanning 15,153 miles (24,386 km), NGTL connects growing supply in northeast BC and Alberta. The system delivers energy to millions of North Americans every day as an essential part of TC Energy’s pipeline network. According to the company, one in every 10 molecules of natural gas across North America comes through the NGTL natural gas infrastructure.
In 2019, Canadian natural gas producers requested an increase of natural gas transportation service on the existing NGTL System. To address this, TC Energy embarked on two projects — NGTL’s Emerson Creek Compressor Station (CS) and Saddle Hills CS C4 Unit Addition. Both projects entered service in Q2 2024.
The Emerson Creek CS, located approximately 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Edson, Alberta, includes two 30-MW gas turbine compressor units. The Saddle Hills CS C4 Unit Addition includes a 30-MW gas turbine compressor unit, located in Saddle Hills County, adjacent to TC Energy’s Saddle Hills Compressor Station, approximately 25 miles west of Spirit River, Alberta. In total, the addition of 90 MW of new compression along with the 14-mile (23-km) pipeline loop provides increased system capacity 238 MMcf/d (6.7 x 106 m3/d).
