Image courtesy Rio Tinto Alcan Rio Tinto Alcan plans to build a new aluminum smelter in northwestern British Columbia. Montreal-based Rio Tinto Alcan’s plan to invest $2.5 billion in a new aluminum smelter in northwestern British Columbia has created a stir among engineering and construction contractors in the region. Last month, 300 local contractors attended a meeting in Vancouver, where plans to rebuild the existing Kitimat plant were presented.Built in the 1950s and powered by the nearby Kemano generating station, the Kitimat plant is undergoing $300 million of preliminary work this year. The work includes a contractor village, cleaning and
South African Sasol Limited and Calgary, Alberta-based Talisman Energy have commissioned a feasibility study to determine where to build of a gas-to-liquid (GTL) plant to take advantage of 44 trillion cu ft of shale gas deposits in northeastern British Columbia. The technical study follows news in March and June of this year that Sasol, an industry leader in GTL technology, paid $2.08 billion for 50% of Talisman’s Farrell Creek and Cyprus A assets. We’ve signaled that we’d like the GTL plant to be near our Montney assets,” says Talisman spokeswoman Phoebe Buckland. “But the exact location is under review, whether
Officials at Husky Energy are still trying to determine the precise cause of an explosion and flash fire that ripped through a natural-gas well approximately 60 miles west of Edmonton, Alberta, British Columbia, on Monday, March 7. The exploratory well was being used to prospect for gas reserves through a technique called hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” in which fluids under pressure are injected into natural fissures within a gas formation to increase the rate of recovery. Thirteen contract workers suffered mostly burns; four workers remain hospitalized, one in serious condition. Husky spokeswoman Carla Yuill said the fire at the well