Blue Atlantic Transmission System - Study

Deliver high volumes of natural gas to the northeast United States market from potential natural gas offshore northeast Canada.

A development plan for the proposed Blue Atlantic encompassed common carrier gathering, processing, and transportation systems. The complete project was comprised of over 1000 miles of new offshore and onshore pipelines, four (4) new offshore platforms, and a new gas processing and compression station on the southwest coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. The goal of the project was to provide an economically attractive transportation system to deliver high volumes of natural gas to the northeast United States market from potential natural gas offshore northeast Canada.

The Offshore Gathering System is to provide a facility for the collection of unprocessed or partially-processed gas from a number of offshore producers and to transport this product to a suitable onshore location where the gas can be processed into pipeline quality natural gas and liquid components. Blue Atlantic Transmission System's 42-inch O.D. Gathering System would originate offshore at a location near Sable Island and then continue in a southwest direction along the northern portions of the Scotian Shelf leases.

A large gas processing plant onshore was constructed capable of treating both 'sour' and 'sweet' gas. The objectives of this plant are to remove all hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and convert it into a marketable sulfur product, remove all marketable natural gas liquids, and produce a dry, high market quality natural gas. This plant was sized to treat up to 1 billion standard cubic feet per day of gas, (Bscfd), with capability for future expansion. A compressor station, located at the gas plant site, compressed the natural gas for transmission in a single 42-inch pipeline to markets in the United States. Gas will also be available at this location for distribution to markets in Nova Scotia.

The Transmission Pipeline will originate onshore at a southwest Nova Scotia location, continue southwesterly through the Northwest Channel, cross portions of the Georges Bank, and enter the USA waters ultimately making landfall in New York and/or New Jersey. The water depths will range from the shore approach water depths to about 800 feet at the Northwest Channel. Blue Atlantic established a single pipeline corridor that reduced the likelihood of a proliferation of pipelines being built on the seafloor, a concern of the fishing industry and others.

PCS SCOPE OF WORK

Project Consulting Services®, Inc. (PCS) led a marine project management team with El Paso and performed the planning, engineering - including surveys, non-environmental permitting, procurement, contracting, and project management. PCS had the responsibility for the marine pipeline installation, platform design and installation, and interface with the land pipeline systems. This responsibility included the route selection and survey management, designed the pipe characteristics, installation methods, pipe requirements for on-bottom stability, platform design, construction management and installation, and offshore interconnect piping.

PCS assisted with the preparation of the US FERC and Canadian NEB applications. Numerous other United States and Canadian government permits were required for this project.