The Aux Sable Story
Aux Sable’s vision is to be a market leader in the midstream gas processing and NGL industry within North America where Aux Sable can secure and expand competitive advantages to achieve predictable earnings growth.
Aux Sable was established as part of the development of the Alliance Pipeline system that commenced operation on December 1, 2000. Two companies were established, one in the U.S. (Aux Sable Liquid Products or “ASLP” located in Channahon, Illinois) and one in Canada (Aux Sable Canada or “ASC” located in Calgary, Alberta) to manage the natural gas liquids (NGLs) business associated with the Alliance Pipeline. ASLP is owned by Enbridge, Fort Chicago and Williams. ASC is owned by Enbridge and Fort Chicago.
Aux Sable originally derived its corporate name from the township where it located the NGL extraction and fractionation facility in 1996 as part of the Alliance project. Aux Sable Township itself was named by the original French Canadian settlers who traveled to and from the sand bar on the local creek to access water…”aux sable” means “to the sand” in French.
Aux Sable has the exclusive right to extract NGLs from Alliance Pipeline gas. The company is well positioned to pursue its vision through development of opportunities to optimize the advantages inherent in the Alliance dense phase energy delivery system as well as growth opportunities outside of its exclusive NGL position in the Alliance gas/NGL transport system.
Aux Sable has now been in operation for over nine years and has delivered outstanding operating, safety and environmental results. The company continually strives to meet high standards in these areas, to comply with appropriate financial/business controls and to be a responsible participant in the local communities where it has operations.
Aux Sable USA
Aux Sable Liquid Products owns and operates one of the largest NGL extraction and fractionation plants in North America. The facility is located in Channahon, Illinois about 50 miles southwest of Chicago near the eastern terminus of the Alliance pipeline. Operations commenced December 1, 2000. The facility is capable of processing 2,100 mmcfd of gas and can produce about 92,000 barrels per day of specification NGL products. Currently, all of the Alliance gas is processed at ASLP’s Channahon NGL Facility.
ASLP is pursuing rich gas and NGL supplies from the Bakken shale oil/gas play via railcar and pipeline (Pecan Pipeline’s Prairie Rose Pipeline (owned by EOG) and Alliance US). ASLP is also processing NGLs received by rail from other shale gas plays.
Aux Sable Canada
Aux Sable Canada, is developing new NGL injections and rich gas connections into the Alliance pipeline. In December 2009, ASC acquired the 25 mmcf per day Septimus Gas Plant in BC’s Montney Shale area from Crew Energy. The Septimus Gas Plant commenced operation in October 2009 and is contract operated by Crew. ASC will construct and operate a 20-inch, 20-kilometer pipeline connecting gas from the Septimus Plant to the Alliance Pipeline. The pipeline has been sized to accommodate potential future volumes from Crew and other regional producers and is expected to be operational in the summer of 2010.
ASC is pursuing a strategy of building, owning and operating offgas processing facilities for current and new heavy oil upgrading and refining facilities in the Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta area. ASC is developing the Heartland Offgas Plant which will process offgas from Shell’s Scotford Refinery. The Plant will produce hydrogen, ethane and a propane-plus mix for the petrochemical industry. ASC expects the Plant to be operational in the summer of 2011.
Alliance Pipeline
The Alliance Pipeline high pressure, dense phase system involves over 2,000 miles of 36 inch mainline pipe and over 280 miles of gathering pipe connected to 47 gas plants in northwestern Alberta and northeastern B.C. These plants have a design capacity in excess of 2600 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd). Alliance currently has a capacity of approximately 1590 mmcfd on an annualized basis through its mainline of which 1325 mmcfd is the base throughput capacity guaranteed by Alliance under ship or pay contracts with an initial term of 15 years (2001 to 2015). Alliance is owned by Enbridge and Fort Chicago.
