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Canadian Energy Centre

New compressed natural gas project to bring energy security to Canada’s north

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Aerial view of the Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk on the shores of the Beaufort Sea in the Canadian Arctic. Getty Images photo

From the Canadian Energy Centre

By Cody Ciona

‘The whole project is for the purpose of addressing the energy security issue that many northerners face’

The recent approval of the first compressed natural gas facility in the Northwest Territories is bringing energy security one step closer to remote and Indigenous communities in Canada’s north. 

The Inuvialuit Energy Security Project (IESP), owned by the Inuvialuit Regional Corp. , will be located 16 kilometres south of Tuktoyaktuk. The project, recently approved by the Canadian Energy Regulator, will convert natural gas into compressed natural gas (CNG), propane, and diesel for the Inuvialuit Settlement region. 

“The whole project is for the purpose of addressing the energy security issue that many northerners face, but particularly northerners that are at the end of a very long road,” said Inuvialuit Petroleum Corporation special advisor Kate Darling. 

The natural gas will be supplied by the Tuk M-18 well, which is also owned by the Inuvialuit, and transported to local customers for power, heat, and fuel. 

Currently, the region is serviced by the Inuvik Gas Project (natural gas from two wells at the Ikhil reservoir, 50 kilometres northwest of Inuvik), and by truck from the south in B.C. The Ikhil wells’ reserves are now critically low, which led to the push for the IESP. The Tuk M-18, however, is estimated to have more than 100 years’ worth of reserves. 

 About 200,000 people in Canada have no connection to an energy grid or natural gas distribution systems. This includes nearly 100,000 people in the northern territories. 

 In the Northwest Territories, refined petroleum products like diesel make up 74 per cent of end-use demand, brought in by trucks. In Inuvialuit’s case, that’s a 5,000-kilometre round trip including a ferry ride. In the past, Inuvialuit has faced potential operation disruption of the ferry service, which put the community in an emergency fuel situation. 

“[The IESP] could provide long-term energy to the communities in the region, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, creating long-term employment,” said Duane Ningaqsiq Smith, chair of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. 

“It represents an Inuvialuit-led solution that takes into account the preservation of our values, advances participation in the northern and national economy, all while reducing emissions and helping preserve our local environment.” 

In addition to providing energy security for remote communities, the IESP will have a significant positive impact on emissions reduction. It is estimated it will have a net reduction of around 40,000 tonnes of emissions per year, equivalent to the yearly emissions of 9,520 cars. 

The project is also expected to support 25 full-time jobs and a further 35 full-time jobs within the local community. 

“All in all … the M-18 will really help not just the surrounding communities of Tuk, but create a lot of jobs for locals, which is very good,” said Ryan Yakeleya, a Tuktoyaktuk councillor. 

The IESP has already injected over $20 million into local businesses with over 70 Inuvialuit and Gwich’in peoples employed to date, according to the latest project update. 

“IPC is committed to developing the IESP and ensuring that as much of the economic benefit and employment opportunities are offered to Inuvialuit,” said Duane Ningaqsiq Smith, IRC Chair and CEO. 

The project is expected to begin producing and delivering gas to consumers by the end of 2025. 

Canadian Energy Centre

Saskatchewan Indigenous leaders urging need for access to natural gas

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Piapot First Nation near Regina, Saskatchewan. Photo courtesy Piapot First Nation/Facebook

From the Canadian Energy Centre

By Cody Ciona and Deborah Jaremko

“Come to my nation and see how my people are living, and the struggles that they have day to day out here because of the high cost of energy, of electric heat and propane.”

Indigenous communities across Canada need access to natural gas to reduce energy poverty, says a new report by Energy for a Secure Future (ESF).

It’s a serious issue that needs to be addressed, say Indigenous community and business leaders in Saskatchewan.

“We’re here today to implore upon the federal government that we need the installation of natural gas and access to natural gas so that we can have safe and reliable service,” said Guy Lonechild, CEO of the Regina-based First Nations Power Authority, on a March 11 ESF webinar.

Last year, 20 Saskatchewan communities moved a resolution at the Assembly of First Nations’ annual general assembly calling on the federal government to “immediately enhance” First Nations financial supports for “more desirable energy security measures such as natural gas for home heating.”

“We’ve been calling it heat poverty because that’s what it really is…our families are finding that they have to either choose between buying groceries or heating their home,” Chief Christine Longjohn of Sturgeon Lake First Nation said in the ESF report.

“We should be able to live comfortably within our homes. We want to be just like every other homeowner that has that choice to be able to use natural gas.”

At least 333 First Nations communities across Canada are not connected to natural gas utilities, according to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER).

ESF says that while there are many federal programs that help cover the upfront costs of accessing electricity, primarily from renewable sources, there are no comparable ones to support natural gas access.

“Most Canadian and Indigenous communities support actions to address climate change. However, the policy priority of reducing fossil fuel use has had unintended consequences,” the ESF report said.

“Recent funding support has been directed not at improving reliability or affordability of the energy, but rather at sustainability.”

Natural gas costs less than half — or even a quarter — of electricity prices in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, according to CER data.

“Natural gas is something NRCan [Natural Resources Canada] will not fund. It’s not considered a renewable for them,” said Chief Mark Fox of the Piapot First Nation, located about 50 kilometres northeast of Regina.

“Come to my nation and see how my people are living, and the struggles that they have day to day out here because of the high cost of energy, of electric heat and propane.”

According to ESF, some Indigenous communities compare the challenge of natural gas access to the multiyear effort to raise awareness and, ultimately funding, to address poor water quality and access on reserve.

“Natural gas is the new water,” Lonechild said.

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Alberta

The beauty of economic corridors: Inside Alberta’s work to link products with new markets

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From the Canadian Energy Centre

Q&A with Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Transport and Economic Corridors

Devin Dreeshen, Alberta’s Minister of Transportation
and Economic Corridors.

CEC: How have recent developments impacted Alberta’s ability to expand trade routes and access new markets for energy and natural resources?

Dreeshen: With the U.S. trade dispute going on right now, it’s great to see that other provinces and the federal government are taking an interest in our east, west and northern trade routes, something that we in Alberta have been advocating for a long time.

We signed agreements with Saskatchewan and Manitoba to have an economic corridor to stretch across the prairies, as well as a recent agreement with the Northwest Territories to go north. With the leadership of Premier Danielle Smith, she’s been working on a BC, prairie and three northern territories economic corridor agreement with pretty much the entire western and northern block of Canada.

There has been a tremendous amount of work trying to get Alberta products to market and to make sure we can build big projects in Canada again.

CEC: Which infrastructure projects, whether pipeline, rail or port expansions, do you see as the most viable for improving Alberta’s global market access?

Dreeshen: We look at everything. Obviously, pipelines are the safest way to transport oil and gas, but also rail is part of the mix of getting over four million barrels per day to markets around the world.

The beauty of economic corridors is that it’s a swath of land that can have any type of utility in it, whether it be a roadway, railway, pipeline or a utility line. When you have all the environmental permits that are approved in a timely manner, and you have that designated swath of land, it politically de-risks any type of project.

CEC: A key focus of your ministry has been expanding trade corridors, including an agreement with Saskatchewan and Manitoba to explore access to Hudson’s Bay. Is there any interest from industry in developing this corridor further?

Dreeshen: There’s been lots of talk [about] Hudson Bay, a trade corridor with rail and port access. We’ve seen some improvements to go to Churchill, but also an interest in the Nelson River.

We’re starting to see more confidence in the private sector and industry wanting to build these projects. It’s great that governments can get together and work on a common goal to build things here in Canada.

CEC: What is your vision for Alberta’s future as a leader in global trade, and how do economic corridors fit into that strategy?

Dreeshen: Premier Smith has talked about C-69 being repealed by the federal government [and] the reversal of the West Coast tanker ban, which targets Alberta energy going west out of the Pacific.

There’s a lot of work that needs to be done on the federal side. Alberta has been doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to economic corridors.

We’ve asked the federal government if they could develop an economic corridor agency. We want to make sure that the federal government can come to the table, work with provinces [and] work with First Nations across this country to make sure that we can see these projects being built again here in Canada.

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