May 8 (Reuters) - Canadian Utilities ( CDUTF ) said on

Wednesday it is developing a C$2 billion ($1.46 billion) natural

gas pipeline project in Alberta to transport natural gas to a

Dow petrochemicals plant and other industrial

facilities.

The company, majority-owned by ATCO, said the

Yellowhead Mainline project would include 200 kilometers (124

miles) of pipeline and related control and compression

facilities that will run from Peers, Alberta, to Edmonton.

Development of the pipeline comes as demand for gas grows

from Alberta's industrial expansion and population growth as

well as from offshore buyers as Canada's first liquefied natural

gas export terminal comes online next year.

"Both of those stories are very important as we think about

the growth of not only Alberta's economy but Canada's economy,"

ATCO Energy Systems Chief Operating Officer Wayne Stensby said

in an interview.

Dow, which will be the pipeline's biggest user, is spending

$6.5 billion on an ethylene cracker and expanded polyethylene

capacity at Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, with some carbon

emissions to be captured and sequestered.

The pipeline is subject to Alberta regulatory approval and a

final investment decision by Canadian Utilities ( CDUTF ). Canadian

Utilities ( CDUTF ) is not seeking government support, Stensby said.

Construction would begin in 2026 with completion expected by

late 2027.

($1 = 1.3726 Canadian dollars)