Owing to COVID-19 situation Pembina's Watson Island Terminal now looking at 2021 opening, with project over-budget

Pembina's Watson Island project won't be put into service
until sometime in the first quarter of 2021
(Map from Pembina website)

The ribbon cutting plans for the Pembina LPG shipment terminal on Watson Island will be delayed a bit further down the calendar and into 2021.  

That as Alberta's Pembina Pipelines faces some challenges to their timeline for the start date for the much anticipated shipment terminal on the city owned industrial land on the border with Port Edward.

In their second quarter report to investors last week, the Prince Rupert project made for one of a number updates on the Alberta based energy company's plans for the remainder of 2020 and beyond.

For the Prince Rupert terminal the delays come after a halt on work on site owing to the COVID pandemic with the new in service date now pushed back to sometime in the first three months of 2021 subject to all the required approvals. 

The Prince Rupert plans were deferred in Mid-March as the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic began to arrive in Canada.

"In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the resulting virtual shutdown of the global economy and the recent significant decline in global energy prices, Pembina made the decision to defer the Prince Rupert Terminal Expansion." -- From March statement from Pembina

In their August statement, Pembina notes that a reduced workforce was remobilized on site around Mid-May, with a range of other contractors also returning to their work through the summer. 

The delays have meant that the 250 million dollar capital budget is trending to be over its original estimates, though the statement from August 6th did not outline by how much.

Beyond the notes on the Prince Rupert project, the Pembina update offered up a glimpse as to how the energy company has weathered the COVID storm to date dealing with reduced prices for oil and natural gas, while making note of the company's anticipation of a more normal business climate in the months to come.

The full update from Pembina can be explored here.

More notes on the progress of the project can be reviewed from our archive page. 

To date, the Pembina LPG Terminal project is the only tenant announced by the City of Prince Rupert for the City owned Watson Island Intermodal Trade and Logistics Park. 

Prince Rupert City Council has often referenced the financial input that the industrial site and Legacy Inc. have provided towards their budget planning; however a full overview of the status of the industrial land and the quest for more tenants, has not been something Council has provided for as part of their public council gatherings through the last few years.

More on the city's industrial development site can be reviewed here.