Regulatory certainty for major pipelines
Compare routes, reduce route risk, and engage First Nations early with environmental intelligence, so you deploy capital with confidence.
For pipeline developers and the regulators who review their routes. Building an independent Canadian economy with First Nations, by reducing regulatory uncertainty and creating jobs.
How we help major pipelines compare routes and move forward
ProDelta compares candidate routes side by side on environmental risk, constructability, and cost, using one evidence base that regulators and First Nations can see too. genesis-ei flags habitat, species at risk, and cumulative effects during route selection, before an application is filed.
- Does this replace an environmental assessment or a regulator’s review?
- No. It works within the existing regulatory framework. It gives qualified professionals better data earlier, so they can complete environmental validation assessments with more certainty and ground truth the highest-risk areas first.
- How fast can routes be compared?
- In a pre-FEED case study for a bitumen pipeline to the Pacific west coast of British Columbia, genesis-ei compared three routes, analyzing more than 5 billion data points, in 6 weeks.
What it costs you
You commit capital to a route before you know it can be approved. The 2026 closure of the Strait of Hormuz showed how fragile global energy supply is, and governments are now moving on pipelines. The developers with route evidence ready will move first.
- Environmental assessments can cost millions across thousands of kilometres of right-of-way.
- Feasibility studies take years, with capital at risk on a single route.
- Last-minute route changes raise engineering costs and delay approvals.
- Consultation with many First Nations, without shared data, adds risk you can avoid.
$5.4B → $34.2B
The Trans Mountain expansion: from its 2013 capital cost estimate to its total project cost. An example, not a forecast.
Kinder Morgan; Parliamentary Budget OfficerDec 2013 → May 2024
From application to commercial operations on that same project.
Kinder Morgan; Parliamentary Budget OfficerOct 1, 2026
The West Coast Oil Pipeline was listed as a project of national interest under the Building Canada Act, which requires Crown-Indigenous consultation.
Canada GazetteWhat you need to do
Start at route selection, not after the money is spent. The earlier you start, the less capital is at risk.
Compare your routes
Run genesis-ei over every candidate corridor at once. You get risk, constructability, and a high-level cost estimate side by side, in weeks.
Validate the best one
raven-eye adds high-resolution AI analysis along the selected route, so your qualified professionals ground truth the highest-risk areas first.
Engage early
Share a transparent digital twin of the route and engage First Nations on land stewardship and economic opportunity.
Restore and build
Restore critical offsets and build, creating an environmental net gain and a restoration-based economy.
- Avoid
- Minimize
- Repurpose
- Mitigate
- Offset
Optimize your project within the existing regulatory framework. The Environmental Priority Pathway pairs genesis-ei analysis with First Nation community knowledge at every step. Shared values. Shared path. Shared opportunities. How Two-Eyed Seeing works
What’s in it for regulators
Better data earlier means better decisions. genesis-ei gives the Canada Energy Regulator, provincial regulators, and the Major Projects Office the same continuously updated evidence the proponent uses.
Routes side by side
Environmental risk, constructability, and cost compared in one view, so the case for a route is clear.
Issues surface early
Habitat, species at risk, and cumulative effects are flagged during route selection, before an application is filed.
Clearer applications
Proponents arrive with quantified, comparable data, so there is less back-and-forth.
Shared and transparent
A shared digital twin gives regulators, proponents, and First Nations the same picture to inform Crown-Indigenous consultation.
Regulators keep the decision. genesis-ei supports qualified professionals and the existing framework.
The rules that apply
What applies depends on the pipeline’s length, location, and whether it crosses a border. These are the main frameworks.
Federal
Canadian Energy Regulator Act
Federal lawInterprovincial and international pipelines need a certificate of public convenience and necessity. For pipelines needing 75 km or more of new right-of-way, the Governor in Council makes the final public interest decision.
Impact Assessment Act
Federal lawPipelines needing 75 km or more of new right-of-way are designated projects. Amendments registered September 3, 2026 (SOR/2026-185) took effect on registration and move the assessment of interprovincial and international pipelines to the Canada Energy Regulator.
Building Canada Act and Major Projects Office
Federal lawA streamlined federal authorization process for projects of national interest, with Crown-Indigenous consultation required. The West Coast Oil Pipeline, now known as Pacific Link, was listed on October 1, 2026.
Species at Risk Act
Federal lawProtects listed species and their habitat, so early habitat mapping along candidate routes matters.
British Columbia
Environmental Assessment Act
Provincial legislationLarge pipelines can be reviewable projects, assessed by the Environmental Assessment Office with First Nations participation.
Energy Resource Activities Act
Provincial legislationThe BC Energy Regulator issues pipeline permits, with conditions. A BC regulation also bars permits to convert an LNG facility pipeline to carry oil or diluted bitumen.
Alberta
Pipeline Act
Provincial legislationThe Alberta Energy Regulator regulates pipelines within the province.
Duty to consult
Alberta Indigenous RelationsEnsures the province’s legal duty to consult First Nations is met on projects that may affect their rights.
This is a general summary, not legal advice. genesis-ei supports qualified professionals and your documentation; decisions remain with the regulators. These federal rules are changing quickly. Confirm requirements with your regulatory team.
Questions we hear
What is genesis-ei for pipelines?
genesis-ei is ProDelta’s environmental intelligence technology. It builds a continuously updated environmental baseline from billions of data points, with layers such as salmon, moose, caribou, and wolf habitat, vegetation species and health, and canopy height without LiDAR, and it can analyze multiple candidate routes at once, with constructability and a high-level cost estimate.
What is in it for regulators?
Regulators get the same continuously updated evidence the proponent uses. Habitat, species at risk, and cumulative effects are flagged during route selection, before an application is filed, and applications arrive with quantified, comparable route data. A shared digital twin of the route gives regulators, proponents, and First Nations the same picture. Regulators keep the decision.
Does this replace an environmental assessment or a regulator’s review?
No. It works within the existing regulatory framework. It gives qualified professionals better data earlier, so they can complete environmental validation assessments with more certainty and ground truth the highest-risk areas first.
How fast can routes be compared?
In a pre-FEED case study for a bitumen pipeline to the Pacific west coast of British Columbia, genesis-ei compared three routes, analyzing more than 5 billion data points, in 6 weeks.
Which Canadian rules apply to pipelines?
It depends on the pipeline’s length, location, and whether it crosses provincial or international borders. Common ones include the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, the Impact Assessment Act, the Building Canada Act, British Columbia’s Environmental Assessment Act and Energy Resource Activities Act, and Alberta’s Pipeline Act. Confirm requirements with your regulatory team.
Know your route risk before you commit capital.
Responsible developers who move quickly will benefit most from this once-in-a-generation opportunity.