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TC Energy offers indigenous groups

chance to buy into Keystone XL

NORTH AMERICA CANADA’S TC Energy is giving indigenous substantial, but we are not in a position to dis-
groups the opportunity to buy into the Keystone close until the definitive agreements are in place
XL pipeline, on which construction has stalled in the next 4-6 weeks,” a TC Energy spokes-
in the US over ongoing legal and regulatory man, Terry Cunha, told Bloomberg in emailed
challenges. comments. “We will continue to be the major-
The pipeline operator said on September 29 ity owner of the pipeline, as the [Natural Law]
that it had signed a memorandum of under- equity will be a minority stake.”
standing (MoU) with Natural Law Energy, If the agreement is finalised as planned, Key-
which represents four First Nations in Alberta stone XL will be the first major export pipeline
and one in Saskatchewan. The MoU paves the whose ownership would include indigenous par-
way for Natural Law to pursue an equity stake ticipation. This comes as at least three consortia
in Keystone XL, as well as potentially other mid- of indigenous groups are pursuing the purchase
stream and power projects. of a stake in the Trans Mountain pipeline to Can-
TC Energy said the MoU was the first of its ada’s West Coast from the federal government.
kind for the company, adding that it planned to However, a definitive agreement on buying into
use it as a model for “future opportunities” for Trans Mountain has not yet been reached, nor
other indigenous groups along the Keystone has a timeline been announced.
XL right-of-way in both Canada and the US. A Pipeline operators are increasingly hopeful
final agreement is expected to be reached in the that indigenous participation will make it easier
fourth quarter of 2020, which started this week. for new projects – which tend to be mired in oppo-
TC Energy has been reported as saying it is not sition – to proceed more smoothly. In Keystone
financing the deal. XL’s case, though, it is regulatory issues south of
“The size of the equity agreement is the border that are now holding up the project.™

Max Midstream buys Seahawk

pipeline and terminal

TEXAS MAX Midstream has announced that it has Victoria Express pipelines to the Edna terminal.
acquired the Seahawk pipeline and terminal at This will allow Permian and Eagle Ford oil to be
the Port of Calhoun in Point Comfort, Texas, exported via the port as well, Max Midstream
from Oaktree Capital Management. The com- said.
pany said it had plans to revitalise the deepwater “By November of 2020 we will have 1.5mn
terminal and use it to export up to 20mn barrels barrels of storage built at Edna and 600,000 bar-
per month (666,667 barrels per day) of oil from rels of storage at the port and the existing Sea-
the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford shale. hawk pipeline, with the ability to export up to
Exports are due to begin upon completion 4.2mn barrels a month,” Max Midstream’s pres-
of the first phase of the project in late 2020, with ident, Todd Edwards, said. “By the time the pro-
the second phase expected to be completed by ject is fully complete in 2023, we will have 9mn
2023. barrels of storage at Edna and 6mn barrels at the
Max Midstream is using the port, which is port, with multiple pipelines to export crude
located in Lavaca Bay, as an alternative to the through the port,” he added.
ports of Houston and Corpus Christi, which it Max Midstream has reached an agreement
says are typically congested. “This project rep- with the Calhoun Port Authority on a pub-
resents a game-changer, as it will open a third lic-private partnership, in which the company
option,” it said in a September 23 statement. will invest $360mn to finance the deepening
The Seahawk pipeline currently connects and widening of the port by 2023. In the interim,
to the Kinder Morgan Crude and Condensate Max Midstream will perform reverse lightering
Interconnect in Edna, Texas, where Max Mid- to export crude onto larger ships, and once the
stream also operates a terminal. Under the com- widening and deepening project is complete,
pany’s plans, future expansion of the system will Aframax and Suezmax ships will be able to load
include new connections with the Gray Oak and at the port.™

Week 39 01•October•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P15