The owners of the Coastal GasLink pipeline say they have reached an agreement with LNG Canada to advance a potential doubling of the pipeline’s capacity to supply a second phase of the liquefied natural gas export facility in British Columbia, pending a final investment decision. If it proceeds, the pipeline’s expansion would be built under “a new execution model” involving both LNG Canada and Coastal GasLink — the pipeline partnership operated by TC Energy Corp. — according to a statement released Wednesday. The agreements would see LNG Canada lead construction of the expansion as “execution manager” while TC Energy-backed Coastal GasLink would take on a technical support role — a move apparently intended to transfer more of the construction and cost overrun risk to the LNG facility’s owners. “The commercial structure includes limits on CGL’s capital commitments and overall liability for construction cost and schedule risks,” TC said in a statement. “This is consistent with TC Energy’s strategic objectives to reduce project execution and capital allocation risk.” TC Energy completed the original Coastal GasLink project in 2023 at more than double the original budget after facing significant challenges throughout the five-year construction period. The pipeline giant subsequently sold a majority stake in the 670-kilometre pipeline to private equity firm KKR & Co. and the Alberta Investment Management Corp. (AIMCo) and offered a 10 per cent equity stake option to Indigenous communities. The 2.1-billion-cubic-feet-per-day pipeline transports natural gas from northeastern British Columbia and northwestern Alberta to the LNG Canada facility in Kitimat, B.C. Expanding capacity to roughly five billion cubic feet per day would be required for a proposed second phase of the LNG project — which analysts say could be green-lit later this year. “Doubling the transmission of natural gas through the existing pipeline will help further strengthen Canada’s role as a reliable supplier to global LNG markets,” TC Energy chief executive François Poirier said in a statement. “Increasing LNG exports presents an extraordinary opportunity to transform our economy and establish our country as the number one LNG exporter to Asia.” TC Energy could be open to return to B.C. LNG pipeline project as global gas crunch threatensAmid gas glut in Western Canada, tanker traffic from LNG Canada falls short of expectations