Page 4 - NorthAmOil Week 08 2021

NorthAmOil COMMENTARY NorthAmOil

TC Energy posts profit, eyes

growth opportunities

Canada’s TC Energy says it has identified significant opportunities to

grow its natural gas and power and storage businesses

NORTH AMERICA IN the wake of US President Joe Biden’s cancella- ($865mn) in the fourth quarter of 2020 from
tion of the cross-border permit for the Keystone CAD970mn ($777mn) a year prior.
WHAT: XL pipeline, which effectively killed the pro- TC Energy said it expects to record a substan-
TC Energy sees gas and ject, operator TC Energy is turning its focus to tial non-cash charge in its first-quarter earnings
power and storage as other areas of its business. While the company owing to the Keystone XL permit cancellation,
businesses that have expressed its disappointment with Biden’s deci- but it did not provide further details at this stage.
considerable potential sion on Keystone XL in its fourth-quarter earn- It is also considering selling steel and other spare
to grow. ings call last week, TC Energy’s CEO, François equipment from the project, and is still consid-
Poirier, noted that it has a “large and diversified” ering the next steps for the failed pipeline plan.
WHY: asset base. However, it already said it had immediately
The company suffered “Our goal is to be able to prosper irrespective begun to wind down construction and spending
a blow with the of how the energy mix evolves over time,” he on the pipeline in the wake of Biden’s decision.
cancellation of the told analysts on the earnings call. “They’re not saying, frankly, that it’s officially
cross-border permit Poirier’s comments come as a growing num- dead, but practically speaking, they’re moving
for Keystone XL but has ber of countries adopt decarbonisation goals on,” an Industrial Alliance Securities analyst,
turned its focus to other in a bid to address climate change. Against this Elias Foscolos, told CBC News last week.
projects. backdrop, many consider natural gas to have a
significant role to play, certainly in the shorter Making progress
WHAT NEXT: term, but also in the longer term if gas compa- TC Energy is making progress with various pro-
The pandemic will lead nies are able to win over opponents of fossil fuel jects, particularly gas-focused ones, in line with
to cost overruns and development and persuade them of the need to the areas where it sees growth opportunities.
delays for the company’s complement renewable energy with gas. The company said last week its Coastal GasLink
Coastal GasLink project. Indeed, TC Energy has identified what it sees project, which is currently under construction,
as significant opportunities to grow its natural has been approved to emerge from restrictions
gas and power and storage businesses. imposed late last year as a result of the coronavi-
The company reported a net profit attrib- rus (COVID-19) pandemic.
utable to common shares of CAD1.124 bn The company will gradually deploy addi-
($890mn) for the fourth quarter of 2020, up tional personnel across the gas pipeline’s 667-
from CAD1.108bn ($878mn) year on year. km route as it works towards full remobilisation.
Its comparable earnings rose to CAD1.08bn Prior to the pandemic, around 4,000 people

TC Energy is still
considering the next
steps for the failed
Keystone XL pipeline
plan, but analysts
consider the project to
be effectively dead.

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 08 25•February•2021