Coastal GasLink gas pipeline over budget ‘significantly: TC Energy
The company behind GasLink coastal pipeline continues to be expected to be “significantly” over budget for the project and will also give a delayed completion date.
However, TC Energy Corp. said Tuesday it still expects the pipeline to be completed in front of Canada’s LNG export terminal in Kitimat, BC, which is also under construction.
Calgary-based TC Energy was selected in 2011 by LNG Canada to design, build, own and operate Coastal GasLink. Construction began in 2019, with an initial scheduled completion date of 2023.
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TC Energy said as part of its fourth-quarter earnings report on Tuesday that pipeline construction is now about 60 percent complete. The 670-kilometer project intends to deliver 2.1 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of natural gas to LNG Canada’s terminal, where it will be converted to a liquefied state for export to global markets. .
But head of corporate development Bevin Wirzba acknowledged on a conference call with analysts that TC Energy remains at odds with Canadian LNG over the expected cost increases and schedule delays. . The company has previously blamed permit delays and the impact of COVID-19 for the problems.
Wirzba declined to include a dollar value in costs that exceed the cost of the project, although he said TC Energy is engaging in a “constructive dialogue” with Canadian LNG right now to resolve the dispute. challenge. He said no construction suspensions were expected while negotiations took place.
“What is really clear to us is that the fundamentals underpinning demand for Coastal GasLink and Canadian LNG facilities (and) demand for those projects have never been stronger,” he said. speak.
“Our common goal with our customers is to safely transport the pipeline and get it in front of the LNG plant that is being built right now.”
TC Energy has committed to provide additional funding for the temporary bridge of up to $3.3 billion to cover excess costs associated with the Coastal GasLink gas pipeline project.
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The $40 billion Canadian LNG export facility at Kitimat – which the federal government says will be the largest private sector investment in Canadian history by 2018 – is now more than 50% complete, according to the website of LNG Canada.
LNG Canada is a joint venture consisting of subsidiaries of Royal Dutch Shell plc, Petronas, PetroChina Co. Ltd., Mitsubishi Corp. and Korea Gas Corp.
In an emailed statement, LNG Canada Vice President of Corporate Affairs Denita McKnight said the company remains concerned about Coastal GasLink’s cost and schedule performance, but is working towards a ” solution agreed upon by both parties.”
“We remain fully committed to providing this critical infrastructure that will connect Canadian natural gas to growing global markets and deliver our first LNG cargo,” McKnight said. in the middle of this decade.
Also on Tuesday, TC Energy increased its dividend, reporting fourth-quarter profit of $1.1 billion.
The pipeline company said it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 90 cents per share, up from 87 cents per share.
The increased payout to shareholders comes as TC Energy reported its fourth-quarter profit amounted to $1.14 per share compared with a profit of $1.1 billion, or $1.20 per share. the year before when the company had fewer shares outstanding.
Total revenue reached nearly $3.6 billion, up from nearly $3.3 billion in the last three months of 2020.
TC Energy said its adjusted earnings for the fourth quarter of 2021 amounted to $1.06 per share compared with $1.15 per share in 2020.
Analysts were expecting an adjusted profit of $1.07 per share, according to financial market data firm Refinitiv.
© 2022 Canadian Press
https://globalnews.ca/news/8623308/coastal-gaslink-pipeline-budget-tc-energy/ Coastal GasLink gas pipeline over budget ‘significantly: TC Energy
