TC Energy is advancing its Coastal GasLink pipeline project after LNG Canada's decision to proceed with its liquefied natural gas export development on British Columbia's west coast.

The pipeline company is moving forward on the Coastal GasLink line, a 670-kilometre pipe designed to move natural gas from the Montney play in northeast British Columbia to the LNG Canada export facility under development at Kitimat. The pipeline, with capacity of 2.1 billion cubic feet per day, forms the sole feeder link between Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin gas supply and the province's first major LNG export terminal.

LNG Canada's decision cleared the key commercial uncertainty hanging over the pipeline's forward schedule. The export facility, backed by Shell and its partners, anchors demand for the line, and TC Energy's advancement of the project follows that sanction.

The Coastal GasLink route runs from the Groundbirch area near Dawson Creek, in the heart of the Montney, west across British Columbia to a terminal connection at Kitimat. Gas delivered through the line will feed the LNG Canada liquefaction trains, which are designed to serve Asian LNG markets.

TC Energy is working through contractor arrangements and project execution steps as the pipeline moves into its construction phase. The company has not disclosed a revised cost estimate as part of this announcement, and schedule details for line completion track with LNG Canada's startup timeline at Kitimat.

The project has drawn sustained opposition from some hereditary chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation along the pipeline's route, a dispute that has complicated right-of-way access and drawn national attention to the line. TC Energy holds agreements with elected councils along the route and has proceeded with construction.

For producers in the Montney, the pipeline's progress adds a second major takeaway option for Western Canadian gas, a basin that has historically relied on exports to the United States and domestic consumption. Producers have watched the LNG Canada-linked pipeline as a structural outlet expected to affect Canadian gas pricing and egress constraints in the basin.

Watch item: Construction milestones on the 670-km route and first gas flow timing to Kitimat, which will set the pace for Montney drilling activity tied to LNG Canada's startup.