Dutch company signs on for thirty percent share of AltaGas Ridley Terminal Project

While work is underway at the Ridley Island site for the AltaGas propane shipment terminal, the Alberta based energy company is lining up some additional investment for the terminal,  with a Dutch company now signed on for a thirty per cent share of the new venture.

A May 5th announcement from AltaGa highlighted the new partnership, which will link up the Alberta company with Royal Vopak, one of the world's leading tank storage companies.

As they settle in on the North Coast, the Dutch will bring with them a 400 year history of storage solutions for the world shipping community.

As part of Friday's announcement, both companies expressed their enthusiasm for the project that will ship some 1.2 million tonnes of propane per annum, taking advantage of the strategic location of Prince Rupert and its proximity to Asian markets.

Prince Rupert's strategic advantage is one of the factors that has brough
Vopak into the AltaGas Propane export project at Ridley Island

"We are excited to form this joint venture with Vopak and have them as a partner in RIPET,"  ... "Vopak is a very strategic global tank storage company and brings significant experience in terminals worldwide. We look forward to working with them on RIPET as well as considering future opportunities to further build out our joint venture." --
David Harris, President and CEO of AltaGas. 

 "We are very much looking forward to working together with AltaGas in this new partnership" ... "Storage and handling of gas is an important strategic focus area for Vopak. We are confident that we have found a strong partner in AltaGas that is a well-respected Canadian company with experience in developing energy projects." -- Eelco Hoekstra Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Royal Vopak. 

You can review the full background of the announcement here.

While the new partners put together their plan for the project moving forward, the work on site is picking up nicely, a recent photo from Resource Works indicates some of that pace, with land clearing currently underway in preparation of terminal development.

Work is picking up on Ridley Island as AltaGas begins site preparation
for their Propane shipment terminal 

Friday's information release also provided some background to the transportation backbone that will be in place for the terminal project, with propane from Alberta and Northeast British Columbia to travel by rail car to the Ridley Island facility for shipment overseas.

It's anticipated that 50 to 60 rail cars a day will travel the existing CN Rail network to reach the shipment terminal at Ridley Island.

Projections suggest that 50 to 60 propane cars per day will travel the CN Rail
system from Alberta to Ridley Island to serve the Ridley Island Propane Terminal
(photo above shows a grain train along the Skeena from CN Rail website)

As par of yesterday's media announcement Alta Gas noted that the proposed development is anticipated to be in operation by the first quarter of 2019.

While the name may not be well known in Prince Rupert at the moment, Vopak is not a newcomer to the North Coast. The Dutch company holds additional land rights on Ridley Island and made note that the two companies will continue to explore the potential to expand their relationship on Ridley Island.

More about what Vopak is about and its footprint in the world of energy storage can be found from their rather informative website here.

The latest updates on the Ridley Island Propane Terminal project can be found on the website for the development here.

You can explore the timeline to this point for the Ridley Island propane terminal from our archive page here.