OTTAWA, May 25 (UPI) -- Canadian regulators announced they approved of plans offered by pipeline company TransCanada to expand an eastern natural gas system.
The National Energy Board approved of a $130 million plan by TransCanada for its proposed Eastern Mainline Expansion system.
The system includes about 8 miles of new pipeline in Ontario, the Platts news service reports. The expansion would increase the natural gas carrying capacity to Toronto and southern Ontario. Construction should begin in July.
TransCanada applied for a permit for the project with the NEB in November. The expansion is meant to meet shipping interest from operators in the Marcellus shale natural gas play in the United States to markets in eastern Canada.
Marcellus, along with the Utica play, holds some of the largest shale natural gas deposits in the United States.
Both lines in the Eastern Mainline Expansion system should be operational by late 2012.
