Among the 18 mine and energy projects the B.C. government recently announced will be fast-tracked is a $450 million natural gas liquids pipeline from northeastern B.C. to Alberta—the NEBC Connector.
Given the delays the project has suffered from BC Energy Regulator (BCER) inertia, news that it may be fast-tracked is “a positive signal” in an important oil and gas producing region that has been clouded of late with uncertainty, according to Brad Hayes, president of the energy consulting form Petrel Robertson.
The project is one of the investments in the liquids-rich region of northeastern B.C. that has faced uncertainty due to treaty obligations, notably with Blueberry River First Nation.
NorthRiver Midtream’s NEBC Connector project was approved federally through the Canadian Energy Regular (CER) in 2023, but was unable to get provincial approvals through CER’s provincial counterpart, the BCER, until just last month, only after it appealed to the federal CER to override the province.
It is just one example of some of the investments in northeastern B.C.’s Montney formation put into question after a 2021 B.C. Supreme Court ruling that found the B.C. government had breached the Blueberry River’s Treaty 8 rights through the cumulative impacts of resource development in the region, including natural gas extraction.
The B.C. government responded to the ruling with the Blueberry River First Nation Implementation Agreement, which places new restrictions on resource development in the region – restrictions that have complicated things for regulators.
“The BCER has been really walking a fine line trying to get things done and observing their limitations,” Hayes said.
Some investments in the natural gas sector in the region may have been paused as a result of this new regulatory uncertainty. Oil and gas rights auctions in the region were essentially suspended for three years, Hayes said.
In December 2024, when auctions were finally held, only two small parcels ended up being acquired, Hayes noted.
“Before 2021, it was normal to see many more lease and licence parcels offered, covering much larger land spreads,” Hayes said. “It’s clear nobody is approaching NEBC with new ideas or new plays, and the difficulty of getting approvals provincially, federally and from First Nations is definitely a factor.”
NorthRiver Midstream’s NEBC Connector project—initially estimated in 2021 at $350 million but now estimated by the Alberta government at $450 million—would consist of two parallel pipelines 215 kilometres long, running from Wonowon, B.C. to the Gordondale, Alberta.
One would be for natural gas condensate, the for other natural gas liquids. Condensate is a type of light oil used to dilute oilsands bitumen in Alberta.
The project was approved by the federal government in 2023, but NorthRiver was unable to get BCER approval, prompting the company to appeal to the CER to override the province and allow the project to proceed without provincial approval.
“Because NorthRiver has no means to comply with the BCER regulatory requirements and obtain the provincial approvals, the project is being put at risk,” NorthRiver warned in an application to the CER.
The pipeline corridor includes close to 200 hectares of land that require “new disturbance” approvals under the BRFN Implementation Agreement. This requires providing “offsets” for any land to be newly disturbed. In its filing to the CER, NorthRiver suggested the problem wasn’t with the BRFN, but with the BCER.
“In a letter to the commission, BRFN advised that their concerns with the project have been resolved based on NorthRiver’s commitment to undertake an offsetting plan in relation to disturbed Crown lands,” the company wrote in its application to the CER.
“The provincial regulatory scheme for approval of linear infrastructure projects such as the project remains unclear, is not functioning, and there is no foreseeable way for NorthRiver to obtain the provincial approvals.”
NorthRiver estimated project costs would increase by $12 million, if contractors were not secured by the end of 2024.
NorthRiver had not responded to Premier David Eby’s announcement two weeks ago that its project is among those to be fast-tracked.
According to the BCER, the project finally received approval on Jan. 17.
