Enbridge to begin construction on BC natural gas pipeline expansion in July

Enbridge Inc. received approval from the Canadian Government for the Sunrise Expansion Program, a $4-billion (Can.) natural gas expansion of Enbridge's Westcoast pipeline system in British Columbia, Can.

Construction on the project, designed to add about 300 MMcfd of natural gas transportation capacity to the southern portion of the Westcoast system, is scheduled to begin in July 2026. The project will use Canadian steel from InterPro Pipe + Steel. In-service is targeted for late 2028.

A January 2026 Commission of the Canada Energy Regulator Report detailed a January 2025 project revision noting the work would take place roughly between Chetwynd, BC, and the Canada-US border at Huntingdon/Sumas and would involve constructing and operating:

• 11 natural gas pipeline loops (about 139 km in total).
• New electric-driven compressor units (and associated substations) at 3 existing compressor stations and a new gas-driven compressor unit at a fourth existing compressor station.
• Facility upgrades and other work at 11 existing compressor stations and at an existing meter station.

“Once in service, the added natural gas transportation capacity is expected to strengthen energy security and affordability by supporting access to natural gas during periods of peak demand,” Enbridge said in a release Apr. 24.

Enbridge's 3.6-bcfd Westcoast natural gas pipeline system stretches more than 2,900 km from Fort Nelson in northeast BC and from Gordondale near the BC-Alberta border, south to the Canada-US border at Huntingdon/Sumas.

The existing Westcoast system is about 12.5% owned by the Stonlasec8 Indigenous Alliance LP, which represents 38 Indigenous groups in BC.