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6. Pipelines and Transportation Infrastructure
B. Transportation and Infrastructure
A. Pipelines There is a great deal of interest in Yukon's oil and gas prospects. However, investment spending to date has been modest. A dramatic increase in oil and gas investment is anticipated once construction is announced of either (or both of) the Mackenzie Gas Project (MGP) or the Alaska Highway Pipeline Project (AHPP). The Government of Yukon supports the construction of both the Alaska Highway pipeline and the Mackenzie Valley pipeline, and believes northern natural gas will be needed to supply growing demand. Yukon is preparing for the opportunities and benefits of both pipeline developments. In 2003 the Government of Yukon concluded an agreement with the Northwest Territories government to ensure that both territories benefit from oil and gas exploration and pipeline development in the North. The following summarizes existing and proposed pipelines which will be of interest to oil and gas companies wanting to invest in Yukon.
Existing Pipeline: Pointed Mountain Pipeline One line, the Duke Energy Gas Transmission Pointed Mountain Pipeline, currently serves the southeast Yukon. It originates in the southwestern Northwest Territories and gathers raw natural gas at the Kotaneelee facility in southeast Yukon for processing in Fort Nelson, B.C. Proposed Pipelines Two major pipeline projects (the MGP and the AHPP) are being proposed to transport natural gas from the Mackenzie Delta and Prudhoe Bay to southern markets. While not being actively pursued at this time, the Dempster Lateral, which would move northern Canadian gas into the Alaska Highway pipeline, remains an option to ensure that Yukon gas is not stranded. The Government of Yukon is preparing a pipeline strategy for both the AHPP and MGP, and has identified six key Yukon interests with an overarching priority to addressing community and First Nation interests:
Northern Natural Gas Pipeline Options Map
Alaska Highway Pipeline Project The original Alaska Highway Pipeline Project was awarded Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity under the Northern Pipeline Act in Canada and by the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Act in the United States in the late 1970s. Southern portions of the project, called the pre-build, were constructed in parts of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan in the 1980s and 1990s. Construction of the northern portion of the pipeline would complete the project. Current proposals call for the construction of a pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Fairbanks along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System right of way, and then from Fairbanks along the Alaska Highway corridor in the Yukon, and then through B.C. into Alberta. The project would deliver between 4.5 Bcf and 5.6 Bcf of gas per day to southern markets and cost approximately $20 billion US to construct. The two current proposals envision using either a Northern Pipeline Act regulatory process or the more traditional National Energy Board regulatory process. The Alaska Highway Aboriginal Pipeline Coalition (AHAPC), initiated in July 2003, serves as a central coordinating organization on pipeline related matters for Yukon First Nations directly impacted along the Alaska Highway Pipeline corridor. The areas of particular focus for the AHAPC include the regulatory issues, environmental issues and socio-economic impacts of the pipeline and benefits agreements. It continues to receive the encouragement and support of the Yukon government.
Mackenzie Gas Project The Yukon government is actively taking measures to ensure that Yukon natural gas is not stranded and that Yukon will have access to the proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline. These measures include:
Brian Love – Director, Oil and Gas Business Development and Pipeline Branch
B. Transportation and Infrastructure Air Travel Whitehorse is home to an international airport with the capacity to handle 747 sized airplanes. There are 10 airports throughout the territory, with many smaller airstrips and aerodromes in remote areas. Whitehorse is served by Air Canada, Air North, and First Air. Flights serve Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Alaska, and the Northwest Territories as follows: Air Canada to Vancouver:
Air North entered market in June 2002. It offers the following service:
First Air offers three flights weekly to Yellowknife
Roads and Highways (link to the Yukon Highways Map The Yukon has 129 bridges and more than 4,700 kilometres of roads that link to Alaska, the Northwest Territories, southern Canada and the United States. The Yukon highway system consists of approximately 2,250 kilometres of Bituminous Surface Treatments (BST) and paved highway, with the remainder loose surface, or gravel. The year-round highway system is built and maintained to accommodate loads up to 77,000 kilograms, with weigh stations located throughout the Yukon. BST has been used on Yukon highways since the late 1970s to provide an improved level of service to the traveling public.
Freight and Passenger Service Freight/Courier Services Many private trucking companies operate in Yukon - both national and Yukon based. There is daily service from Edmonton and several times per week from Vancouver. There are a few for hire LTL (Less than Truck Load) operators within Yukon, and several private trucking firms (groceries, fuel etc.). Yukon is served by more than a dozen national and local courier services, including DHL Express, Fedex, Greyhound Canada and Purolator.
Passenger Services Yukon has one scheduled interprovincial carrier – Greyhound
Rail System The White Pass and Yukon Route (WP&YR) railway narrow gauge railroad was completed in 1901. There are 170 kilometres of track between Whitehorse to Skagway, Alaska, however, operations to Whitehorse were halted in 1982 following mine closures. Current WP&YR operations run only from Skagway to the Canada/U.S. border at Fraser, B.C. The passenger load as tourist route in 2002 totaled about 300,000. Service may extend to Carcross in the future, but there are no plans to resume freight operations. The Yukon government recently committed to contribute $3 million toward a joint feasibility study with Alaska to build a rail link from Alaska through Yukon and into northern British Columbia. Such a railway would provide benefits to Yukon and Canada and would support key industries in the North such as oil and gas, mining and tourism. Back to Table of Contents, back to previous section (Fiscal Regime) or on to next section (Geology in the Yukon).
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Last Updated 07-09-2005