OTTAWA: The value of natural gas liquids (NGLs) imports could exceed the value of exports in 2015, something that has not happened in at least 25 years, according the National Energy Board.
The NEB cites Statistics Canada data that shows Canada’s trade balance in NGLs has been on a downward trend for more than a decade.
Natural gas liquids are a byproduct of natural gas extraction.
Some uses include propane for heating and crop drying, as well as use as a petrochemical feedstock for propane dehydrogenation plants that can turn NGLs into propylene and polypropylene that is used in plastics.
“The declining value of Canada’s net NGL exports is partly the result of low NGL prices and increased competition from rising U.S. propane production, which has increased 40 per cent since 2011,” the NEB said in a Jan. 6 report, also pointing to the the Mariner West and Vantage pipelines in the United States for ethane imports.
According to Mark Pinney, markets manager for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, the downward trend could be a result of the development of new natural gas plays across North America.
While not “driving the bus” in terms of the natural gas market, the challenge with what to do with NGLs is something that producers are having to deal with more and more as the new plays are developed, Pinney said.
In Northeast B.C., AltaGas’ planned $100-million liquids processing facility that could border the city of Fort St. John would be part of that solution.
The gas plant could bring in as many as 150 workers during its construction and would process 20,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids.
Some landowners in the area are concerned about the impact the plant would have on the area (along the Swanson Lumber Road, across from the Canfor mill) citing already heavy truck traffic.
Pinney says NGLs will continue to create opportunities in the region because “you have got to find something to do with all those liquids,” he said, adding that the natural gas extracted in this area of the province is typically “liquids rich.”
The potential for Canada being a net importer of NGLs will have a small impact on the economics of developing natural gas resources in B.C., Pinney noted.
“Small in the sense that those opportunities aren’t driving natural gas production, market opportunities are” he said.
“But, to the extent that you are bringing on more liquids as a result (of development) then you will want to look for more market opportunities.”
