The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) has responded to an incident involving TC Energy Corp.’s NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) Grande Prairie Mainline (GPML) near Edson, Alberta. The affected section of the pipeline is currently shut in and fully isolated.
Preliminary information indicates that the 36-in. OD natural gas pipeline ruptured around 10:45 a.m. local time, Apr. 16, 2024. The rupture caused a small wildfire, which is contained.
There are two other TC Energy pipelines, 42-in. and a 48-in., within the affected right-of-way that remain operational at reduced pressure. TC Energy reported that there are no supply impacts because of the rupture.
All TC Energy personnel working nearby were safely evacuated and there are no reported injuries. The company reported that it notified nearby communities, and there were no direct impacts to landowners or Indigenous communities. The company says it is working with local authorities and has activated its emergency response plan.
NGTL can transport upwards of 13 bcfd of natural gas produced in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin to markets in Canada and the US. TC Energy’s 2021 NGTL System Expansion Project— which included multiple pipeline sections and compressor station units in Grande Prairie West, Grande Prairie South, and Edson South—added the most recent 1.45 bcfd to this total when it came online last year.
The company has additional expansions to the system underway: GPML Loop No. 4 (Valhalla North Section) and the Berland River Compressor Station (CS) C3 Unit Addition.
Valhalla North is in Alberta’s Saddle Hills and Grande Prairie No. 1 counties. Installation of about 33 km of 48-in. OD pipe will start at the existing NGTL Saddle Hills CS, 81 km northwest of Grande Prairie, and will tie into an existing NGTL valve site, 54 km northwest of Grande Prairie.
The Berland River Compressor Station C3 Unit Addition will include a new 30-Mw electric-motor driven unit and aerial coolers immediately adjacent to the existing NGTL Berland River CS, 83 km northwest of Edson.
NGTL received CER’s approval for the work in December 2023 and expects the assets to enter service second-quarter 2026.