A proposed 900-kilometre gas pipeline in northern B.C. that would supply a liquefied natural gas terminal in Prince Rupert has final approval.

TransCanada said Tuesday it has received 11 permits for its $6-billion Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project from the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission.

The permits cover the length of the pipeline that starts in Hudson’s Hope in northeast B.C., as well as compressors at the Pacific NorthWest LNG terminal at Lelu Island near Prince Rupert.

They are the final approval step for the pipeline that earlier received approval from the B.C. government following an environmental assessment.

The pipeline is dependent on the LNG terminal being approved by the federal government and a final decision from Malaysian state-controlled Petronas, which leads the project.

The entire project — including the pipeline, terminal and work to extract gas in northeast B.C. — is pegged at $36 billion.

About 780 kilometres of the pipeline is on land and 110 kilometres is under the ocean.

“Receiving the full complement of 11 pipeline and facility permits is a major milestone for the project, and concludes an exhaustive regulatory process that we embarked on more than two years ago,” Prince Rupert Gas Transmission president Tony Palmer said in a statement.

Palmer said they continue to work on securing more project agreements with First Nations.

At least eight First Nations have signed deals with the pipeline: Doig River, Halfway River, Yecooche, Gitanyow, Kitselas, Lake Babine, Nisga’a and Metlakatla.

However, the terminal and pipeline face opposition from some First Nations.

Luutkudziiwus — a group within the Gitxsan Nation — says it plans to challenge the pipeline’s environmental approval in court.

And some Lax Kw’alaams leaders oppose the use of Lelu Island as a terminal location over concerns that juvenile salmon habitat in adjacent eel grass beds could be harmed.

A $1.15-billion benefit package from Petronas and the B.C. government was rejected in community votes.

Petronas and other leading LNG proponents such as Shell and Chevron have yet to make final investment decisions and face headwinds from reduced available capital to low oil prices, increased global LNG supply coming on stream and lower natural gas prices in a jittery global economy.

ghoekstra@vancouversun.com

With a file from The Canadian Press

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