Pembina opens first LPG export facility

Pembina opened its first propane marine export facility, the Prince Rupert Terminal, located on Watson Island in the vicinity of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada.

Pembina’s new export facility is best viewed as a small-scale rail terminal, moving LPG from rail cars to vessels destined for international markets. Photo by Aaron Whitfield/Red Bike Media

Dry commissioning was completed on March 19 and Pembina began loading propane from rail cars onto vessels destined for international markets on April 9.

“This project is important as it represents our first export facility and will provide customers with improved access to more international markets and attract higher pricing for their propane,” the company says in its fourth quarter and full-year 2020 financial statement.

The terminal is expected to operate at 20,000 barrels per day (bpd) with a capacity of 25,000 bpd. The project capital budget was $250 million.

The propane is extracted off-site from natural gas supply in northern British Columbia and Alberta, the company says, and will be transported by rail from its Redwater Complex northeast of Edmonton to Prince Rupert. The propane will be offloaded and stored at the terminal.

Pembina is a transportation and midstream service provider that has been serving North America’s energy industry for more than 65 years. Pembina owns an integrated system of pipelines that transport hydrocarbon liquids and natural gas products produced primarily in western Canada.