Pembina planning for 2021 first quarter completion of Watson Island LPG terminal

The Alberta energy giant Pembina is forecasting a completion of first quarter of 2021 for its Prince Rupert gateway terminal, reviewing their progress on the Watson Island Terminal. as part of their 2021 Guidance document issued earlier this month.

In their update, the resource company also notes that it is continuing its exploration of expansion options for the Prince Rupert Terminal, with a view towards larger throughputs and shipment volumes through the North Coast to their global markets.

Pembina continues to engineer an expansion of the Prince Rupert Terminal and the ongoing evaluation of this project now contemplates incremental volumes of 25,000 bpd, as well as the use of mid-size gas carriers, which would increase the vessel capacity from 150,000 barrels, to 250,000 barrels, thereby improving economies of scale and competitiveness of the facility by lowering per unit lifting and vessel transport costs to premium markets. 

In addition, the mid-size gas carriers are fully refrigerated, opening up additional opportunities to serve markets with fully refrigerated terminals, as well as continuing to service other niche markets with smaller, semi-refrigerated handy-size ships.

The revised timeline for completion was revealed earlier this year, after COVID-19 provided for some challenges for the Alberta energy company and a pause on construction for the Prince Rupert facility.

Pembina hosts a Prince Rupert storefront on Third Avenue
West, where residents and prospective employees can learn
more about their progress at Watson Island

Locally, travellers down Third Avenue East in the early morning hours have seen the lights on and a growing number of people stopping into the storefront location in the Capitol Mall, as soon to be employees of the terminal site learn more about what's ahead for their careers with Prince Rupert's newest industrial presence.

To date, Pembina has been the only tenant announced by the City of Prince Rupert for the re-purposed old pulp mill site that is now known as the Watson Intermodal Trade and Logistics Park.

You can review the full guidance statement from Pembina for 2021 from their website here.

Further notes on the company's plans for Prince Rupert can be reviewed from our archive page here.