Canada on Monday gave the green light to a Can$1.3 billion (US$970 million) expansion of natural gas pipelines in Alberta province.

It was the second pipeline project to be approved by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government since he took office a year ago.

Its approval, however, is subject to 36 conditions aimed at protecting fish and wildlife.

Canada is the world's fifth largest producer of natural gas, according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

Growing the energy sector poses challenges for Trudeau, who championed the Paris accord to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

The Nova Gas Transmission Ltd. project would see a twinning of about 230 kilometers (145 miles) of existing pipelines in Alberta, and the addition of a few lines to new gas fields, increasing the network's distribution capacity to 12.5 million cubic meters per day.

NGTL is a subsidiary of TransCanada. NGTL's network already spans 24,000 kilometers in Alberta and northern parts of neighboring British Columbia province, which carries two-thirds of the natural gas produced in Western Canada to the North American market.

Upstream greenhouse gas emissions linked to the project are estimated at 1,200 to 1,400 tons per year, which the government considered in its decision.

"The twin imperatives of economic prosperity and environmental protection guided us in our decision-making and I am confident the right decision was made in the interest of Canadians," Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr said in a statement.

In September, Ottawa approved a Can$36 billion project by Malaysia's Petronas to build a liquefied natural gas pipeline and terminals on Canada's Pacific coast to ship gas to Asia.

However, Petronas has yet to say if it will proceed with the project as natural gas prices plunged more than 70 percent in the last two years while stakeholders fought over environmental concerns.

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