Veresen Inc. will build and operate a new wholly-owned ethane storage facility near Burstall, Saskatchewan, about 20 kilometers north of the Empress NGL complex, the company said Nov. 12. It entered into an agreement with NOVA Chemicals Corp.

NOVA will use the majority of the storage capacity under a 20-year arrangement.

The facility is scheduled to be in service in second-half 2018, subject to final regulatory approval.

The salt cavern facility will store about 1 million barrels of ethane, and a pipeline will connect it to Veresen's Alberta ethane gathering system. The facility and related infrastructure will cost about CA$140 million.

Don Althoff, president and CEO of Veresen, said the Burstall facility will provide customers with valuable operational storage as ethane imports to Empress from the North Dakota Bakken grow.

Veresen Inc. is based in Calgary, Alberta.