Pembina Pipeline operates approximately 18,000 kilometres of pipelines across Western Canada, making it one of Canada’s largest midstream operators by network scale and the dominant mover of natural gas liquids out of Alberta’s liquids-rich formations. With Cedar LNG under construction on the British Columbia coast and Montney basin volumes growing steadily, 2026 marks a significant expansion phase for the company beyond its traditional NGL transportation core.
Pembina Pipeline — Company Overview
Founded in 1954 and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Pembina Pipeline Corporation trades on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PPL. The company’s core business spans NGL transportation and fractionation, crude oil pipelines, and natural gas gathering and processing — all concentrated in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
CEO Scott Burrows, appointed in 2023, has continued the company’s long-standing focus on infrastructure-backed cash flows and consistent dividend growth. Pembina reported revenue of approximately CAD $8.8 billion in FY2024, underpinned by fee-for-service contracts across its integrated midstream network.
The Peace Pipeline System & Western Canada NGL Network
The Peace Pipeline system is one of Canada’s longest NGL pipeline networks, originating in the Peace River region of northern Alberta and running south to the Empress NGL extraction facility near the Saskatchewan border. Empress strips ethane, propane, butane, and condensate from natural gas flows before the residue gas continues east.
Downstream of Empress, Pembina’s fractionation infrastructure at Younger (BC) and Redwater (Alberta) separates the NGL mix into specification products. The Edmonton area serves as the company’s primary fractionation and storage hub, connecting into Alberta’s export corridors and providing access to US markets via Alliance Pipeline.
Pembina Pipeline’s Montney & Duvernay Basin Operations
Two of Western Canada’s most active liquids-rich formations — the Montney (spanning northeast BC and northwest Alberta) and the Duvernay (central Alberta) — are central to Pembina’s growth story. The company has built an integrated gathering and processing network serving producers in both plays, capturing condensate and NGL streams as liquids-rich production volumes rise.
Montney producers have sustained among the highest-return drilling programmes in North America through 2025 and into 2026, driving throughput gains across Pembina’s BC and Alberta processing infrastructure. Duvernay activity, while smaller in absolute terms, adds condensate volume that moves through Pembina’s Edmonton fractionation complex.
Alliance Pipeline & US Market Access
Pembina co-owns Alliance Pipeline with Enbridge — a roughly 3,000-kilometre natural gas transmission line running from northeast BC and northwest Alberta to the Chicago hub in Illinois. Alliance moves liquids-rich gas rather than residue gas, meaning NGL content arrives at Chicago-area fractionators rather than being extracted at the Alberta border.
This structure gives Pembina indirect US market exposure for NGL volumes, but also creates tariff and regulatory sensitivity at the Canada-US border. The Canada-US trade environment in early 2026 has introduced uncertainty around cross-border energy flows, and Alliance Pipeline’s cross-border volumes represent a live monitoring item for the company’s commercial teams.
Cedar LNG — Pembina Pipeline’s Export Gateway
Cedar LNG is a proposed floating LNG export facility located at Kitimat, BC, developed in partnership with the Haisla Nation. At approximately 3 MTPA nameplate capacity, the project would become Canada’s first Indigenous-majority-owned LNG export facility. Pembina took a final investment decision on Cedar LNG in 2024, and construction is underway.
The project’s strategic logic is straightforward: Western Canada produces more natural gas than the domestic and US-connected markets can absorb at premium prices. A BC coast LNG terminal gives Pembina and its Montney-area shipper base access to Asian LNG markets, diversifying away from the Henry Hub-linked pricing that governs Alliance Pipeline flows. Cedar LNG is the most significant single capital project on Pembina’s books through the late 2020s.
2026 Strategy & Market Position
Pembina sits in a distinct position within Canadian midstream: smaller in absolute network scale than TC Energy or Enbridge, but more tightly focused on NGL and liquids-rich gas — the highest-margin segment of Western Canadian production. Where TC Energy’s strength lies in long-haul natural gas transmission and Enbridge’s in crude oil mainlines, Pembina’s value proposition is integrated NGL handling from wellpad to fractionator to export corridor.
The company’s 2021 bid for Inter Pipeline — a CAD $4.1 billion approach that was ultimately lost to Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a contested takeover — demonstrated M&A ambition that remains part of the strategic picture. The Inter Pipeline assets, centred on the Heartland Petrochemical Complex near Edmonton, would have added significant petrochemical processing capacity to Pembina’s portfolio. That appetite for scale has not visibly diminished.
For context on how Pembina compares against the full peer group, see the Top 10 Pipeline Companies Global and Top 10 Midstream Companies 2026 rankings.
Company Snapshot
| Headquarters | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1954 |
| Stock ticker | TSX / NYSE: PPL |
| CEO | Scott Burrows (appointed 2023) |
| Total pipeline network | ~18,000 km |
| Primary commodities | NGL, crude oil, natural gas gathering & processing |
| Key asset | Peace Pipeline system — one of Canada’s longest NGL networks |
| Key project | Cedar LNG, Kitimat BC — ~3 MTPA FLNG (FID 2024, under construction) |
| FY2024 revenue | ~CAD $8.8 billion |
What does Pembina Pipeline transport?
Pembina Pipeline transports natural gas liquids, crude oil, and liquids-rich natural gas across Western Canada. Its roughly 18,000-kilometre network spans Alberta and British Columbia, with the Peace Pipeline system handling NGL from the Peace River region and the Alliance Pipeline moving gas to the US Midwest.
What is the Peace Pipeline system?
The Peace Pipeline is one of Canada’s longest NGL pipeline systems, running from the Peace River region of northern Alberta south to the Empress NGL extraction facility near the Saskatchewan border. NGL extracted at Empress moves to Pembina’s fractionation facilities at Younger and Redwater before reaching the Edmonton storage and export hub.
What is Cedar LNG and how is Pembina Pipeline involved?
Cedar LNG is a proposed floating LNG export facility at Kitimat, British Columbia, developed by Pembina Pipeline in partnership with the Haisla Nation. The project has a capacity of approximately 3 MTPA and received a final investment decision in 2024. Construction is underway, making it Canada’s first Indigenous-majority-owned LNG export terminal.
How does Pembina Pipeline compare to Enbridge and TC Energy?
Pembina Pipeline is smaller in total network scale than both Enbridge and TC Energy, but more concentrated in NGL and liquids-rich gas handling — the highest-margin segment of Western Canadian midstream. Enbridge focuses primarily on crude oil mainlines and TC Energy on long-haul natural gas transmission, while Pembina’s integrated NGL system from wellpad to fractionator represents its core competitive position.
Where does Pembina Pipeline operate?
Pembina Pipeline operates primarily in Alberta and British Columbia, with assets in the Peace River region, Montney formation, Duvernay formation, and the Edmonton fractionation hub. Alliance Pipeline extends its reach into the US Midwest via the Chicago gas hub. Cedar LNG will add a Pacific coast export point at Kitimat, BC.