The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (CEPA) released its sixth annual report highlighting the transmission pipeline industry鈥檚 performance in the areas of safety, environmental protection and socio-economic contributions on Sept. 30.
Canada鈥檚 vast network of transmission pipelines extended 118,500 kilometres, safely delivering more than 5.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 1.7 billion barrels of crude oil in 2019.
鈥淐anadian natural gas and oil transmission pipelines have been safely delivering the energy we all rely on every day for more than six decades, but it鈥檚 during challenging times like these that we truly understand how essential our business is to the well-being of society,鈥� said Tracy Robinson, CEPA Board Chair and Executive Vice-President, President Canadian Natural Gas Pipelines and President Coastal GasLink, TC Energy.
The performance report provides a transparent look at the number of incidents along CEPA members鈥� rights-of-way. There were nine incidents in 2019, a decrease of over 50 per cent from the previous year. Additionally, there were eight unplanned natural gas releases. One incident was classified as significant because it was caused by a rupture. Any released natural gas quickly dissipates into the air. One liquids incident, which was not classified as significant. All 9.4 barrels spilled were fully recovered.
鈥淲hile we are pleased with the drop in incidents in 2019, no incident is acceptable,鈥� said CEPA President and CEO Chris Bloomer. 鈥淐EPA members share best practices and continuously improve on what are already some of the safest, most advanced pipelines in the world, making Canada a global leader in the responsible production and transportation of natural gas and oil.鈥�
This year鈥檚 report 鈥� titled 鈥淐anadian Energy. For a Responsible Future鈥� 鈥� focussed on Canada鈥檚 role as a global leader in environment, social and governance (ESG) performance. It also examined the industry鈥檚 commitment to incident prevention, environmental protection and socio-economic contributions.
Highlights from 2019 included 2,020 proactive integrity digs to examine pipelines for defects and make repairs, 38,937 kilometres of in-line inspections to examine pipelines for any potential issues, $1.5 billion invested in the maintenance and monitoring of pipeline systems, 393 emergency response exercises, ranging in complexity from drills to full-scale exercises, $2.9 billion spent on personnel, services, supplies and equipment from local sources, including $528 million from Indigenous suppliers, $1.7 billion to government tax revenues, including income, property and carbon taxes and 13,434 full-time equivalent jobs across Canada.
The full 2020 Transmission Pipeline Industry Performance Report is available .
