The Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Project (PRGT) has signed a construction agreement with Surerus Murphy Joint Venture (SMJV). The signing marks the first of what will be an all-Canadian roster of contractors for land construction.
Surerus Murphy is a joint venture between Surerus Pipeline Inc., a family-owned company based in Fort St. John, B.C., and J. Murphy & Sons, headquartered in the UK with Canadian offices in Calgary and Edmonton. Formed in 2015, Surerus Murphy combines more than 100 years of pipeline construction experience and has built major energy infrastructure projects across western Canada.
“I am excited by the opportunity that this project presents for Canada and our increasingly important energy export market, and to partner with Western LNG and the Nisga'a Nation,” said Mick Fitzpatrick, President of Surerus Murphy Joint Venture. “As an energy infrastructure construction company rooted in Western Canada, we understand the uniqueness of this project scope intimately, and we know we can use our experience to complete this work safely and responsibly while finding unique ways to contribute locally to the communities our work engages with.”
“There is no substitute for a contractor that has already built a pipeline through this terrain,” said Davis Thames, Founder, President, and CEO of Western LNG. “Surerus Murphy's experience building major projects in northern B.C. means fewer surprises and faster problem-solving. We’re fortunate to be able to draw on the wisdom Canada’s construction industry has already gained in order to make PRGT a better project.”
As a condition of its contract, Surerus Murphy is required to develop a local and Indigenous participation plan – a standard PRGT applies to all of its prime contractors.
“Focusing on Canadian construction companies like SMJV for the land sections of PRGT is a deliberate decision,” said Eva Clayton, President of Nisga'a Lisims Government. “When we build with Canadian companies, and those companies subcontract to local and Indigenous businesses, that means huge benefits stay right here in British Columbia.”
Surerus Murphy’s agreement is the first terrestrial construction contract awarded on the project. The marine work was awarded to Allseas, a Swiss specialist in subsea pipeline construction. PRGT is working with Bechtel, one of the world’s leading engineering and construction firms, on overall execution planning for the pipeline project, including evaluating and selecting premier contractors.
PRGT is a natural gas pipeline that will safely and responsibly deliver natural gas from northeastern British Columbia to the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG facility on Canada’s northwest coast.