By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Jan. 15 -- Bison Pipeline Ltd. plans to build an $800 million (Can.), 516-km pipeline to transport bitumen from the Athabasca oil sands to the Edmonton, Alta., area.
Bison Pipeline, a wholly owned subsidiary of energy and utility services provider BC Gas Inc., said it would apply to the Alberta Energy Utilities Board in July and expects final regulatory approval in the first quarter of 2003.
The insulated system would retain the temperature of bitumen with minimal use of diluent. Initial capacity would be 100,000 b/d, expandable to 450,000 b/d. When fully developed, the pipeline would cost $1 billion.
BC Gas said, "The Bison Pipeline Project is the latest in a series of pipeline projects that will support increased bitumen production from the Athabasca oil sands region to reach markets."
Bison Pipeline is involved in joint engineering and technical studies with potential shippers, including TrueNorth Energy Corp., Calgary, and Petro-Canada.
Bison Pipeline expects to begin building the system in time to meet the earliest shippers' planned production schedule of mid-2005.
"In order to service multiple shippers, each with potentially different products, Bison Pipeline will be designed to operate as a batch system. A number of access points into the system will allow different shippers to ship on the pipeline as production in the Athabasca oil sands region grows," said BC Gas.
