Canada Energy Regulator approves the first compressed natural gas facility in the NWT

The Inuvialuit Energy Security Project is expected to provide sustainable energy for the next 50 years

CALGARY, AB, March 7, 2024 /CNW/ - The Commission of the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) has approved the Inuvialuit Energy Security Project (IESP) Energy Centre with 20 conditions. The project will convert natural gas into compressed natural gas, propane, and synthetic diesel that can be used for power and heating. The IESP Energy Centre will supply the Inuvialuit Settlement Region with reliable energy, reducing dependence on imported fuel trucked or barged in from southern Canada.

This decision is the final of three authorizations from the Commission allowing for the construction and operation of the project. The other two authorizations for early site works and certain well-workover activities at the TUK M-18 well were issued on June 28, 2023.

The Commission considered expressions of support for the project's benefits from Indigenous Peoples and organizations that include:

• replacement of imported diesel with a locally produced and reliable energy source;
• employment/economic self-sufficiency and self-determination opportunities;
• positive impact on their rights and interests due to the focus of the project on enhancing energy security and reducing energy costs; and
• reducing the environmental footprint of the current energy infrastructure in the region.

Input from elders, harvesters, youth, local leaders, community members, and co-management bodies helped to shape IESP's mitigation and management plans and engineering approaches. 

Throughout the regulatory process, the CER focused on protecting the North's unique and sensitive environment including permafrost, wildlife and species at risk. The Commission imposed specific conditions to mitigate and monitor potential impacts including:

• preventing permafrost melt,
• monitoring noise to protect humans and wildlife, and
• implementing a seven-year post-construction environmental monitoring program to account for slower vegetation growth rates in the North.

The Commission included additional conditions focusing on environmental protection, safety, emergency response, and operational readiness.

• The IESP Energy Centre is located approximately 16 kilometres south of Tuktoyaktuk and four kilometres west of the Inuvik-to-Tuktoyaktuk highway in the Northwest Territories.
• The IESP Energy Centre will be located in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, where the Inuvialuit own the land and resources.
• In 2021, the Development Plan for the IESP was also subject to review and decision by the Environmental Impact Screening Committee under the Inuvialuit Final Agreement.
• The CER regulates the IESP under the Northwest Territories' Oil and Gas Operations Act in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.

• Decision
• Inuvialuit Energy Security Project webpage

The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) works to keep energy moving safely across the country. We review energy development projects and share energy information, all while enforcing some of the strictest safety and environmental standards in the world. To find out how the CER is working for you, visit us online or connect on social media. 

SOURCE Canada Energy Regulator