Wolf Midstream Invests CAD 500 Million to Expand NGL System in Canada

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 16, Wolf Midstream announced a final investment decision for Phase 3 expansion of the NGL North natural gas liquids system in Alberta, Canada, with a new investment of approximately CAD 500 million, supported by shareholder Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The Phase 3 project will add approximately 600 million cubic feet per day of natural gas processing capacity and expand natural gas liquids recovery, deethanization, rail loading, and on-site cogeneration facilities. The company has obtained the required permits and approvals for the project, and construction and development of core facilities have commenced.

The Phase 3 expansion will add a third recovery unit at each of two natural gas liquids recovery facilities in northern Alberta. The Wolf Recovery Facility 1 (WRF 1) near Mariana Lake will increase its processing capacity to approximately 1 billion cubic feet per day, with the expansion planned to come into service in mid-2028; the Wolf Recovery Facility 2 (WRF 2), currently under construction northwest of Fort McMurray, will add a third unit, increasing processing capacity to more than 1.1 billion cubic feet per day, with the facility including this expansion planned to come into service in early 2027. Once both facilities are expanded, their combined natural gas processing capacity will exceed 2.1 billion cubic feet per day.

The natural gas liquids extracted at the two recovery facilities will be transported by pipeline to the Wolf Feedstock Separation (WFS) facility in Sturgeon County. The WFS Phase 3 project will add a third deethanizer, increasing the system's total natural gas liquids production capacity to approximately 110,000 barrels per day, including more than 80,000 barrels per day of ethane, with the related expansion facilities planned to come into service in early 2027. Wolf will also build a 37-megawatt natural gas cogeneration facility at WFS to simultaneously produce the thermal energy and electricity required on site, planned to be put into operation in 2028.

The WFS rail loading terminal is also within the scope of this round of works. After expansion, its initial loading capacity will be approximately 60,000 barrels per day, capable of handling Wolf's own production as well as third-party natural gas liquids transportation, and it is planned to be put into service within 2026. Wolf disclosed that the vast majority of the incremental natural gas liquids production from Phase 3 has already been secured through long-term fixed-fee agreements, with counterparties primarily being investment-grade credit customers.

Phase 1 of the NGL North system came into service in 2023. Wolf made a final investment decision on the Phase 2 project in July 2024, with a Phase 2 investment of approximately CAD 1 billion to build WRF 2 and expand natural gas liquids transportation and separation facilities; after completion of Phase 2, the system's natural gas processing capacity will be approximately 1.5 billion cubic feet per day, and its natural gas liquids production capacity will exceed 90,000 barrels per day, including more than 60,000 barrels per day of ethane. After completion of Phase 3, the combined processing capacity of WRF 1 and WRF 2 will exceed 2.1 billion cubic feet per day, and WFS natural gas liquids production capacity will increase to approximately 110,000 barrels per day; Wolf's planned final design capacity for NGL North is approximately 3 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas processing and 170,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids production.

The Alberta Major Projects Database has included NGL North Phase 3 in its project inventory, with a registered investment amount of CAD 500 million, a construction period from 2026 to 2028, and project content including new natural gas liquids recovery units, a third deethanizer, rail terminal expansion, and cogeneration facilities.