Page 6 - NorthAmOil Week 27 2021

NorthAmOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT NorthAmOil

TC Energy to seek $15bn in compensation

for cancellation of Keystone XL pipeline

TC Energy (Canada) has taken the first step the link earlier in the year, after the adminis-
towards seeking compensation from the US tration of US President Joe Biden revoked the
government for the revocation of a cross-border cross-border permit.
permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Keystone XL had become a lightning rod
On July 2, the company filed a Notice of for protests by environmental groups and other
Intent (NoI) with the US State Department, opponents and had gone through 16 years of ups
saying it intended to initiate a claim under the and downs under successive US governments,
US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) while its already high costs steadily escalated,
against the US for more than $15bn in dam- reaching $9bn before cancellation. The pipeline
ages incurred because of Washington’s failure had been expected to carry 830,000 barrels per
to uphold its obligations under the free trade day (bpd) of oil sands crude from Alberta to
accord. Nebraska, whence it would have been shipped
The NoI was filed with the State Depart- on to the US Gulf Coast. Opponents of the
ment’s Office of the Legal Advisor, the company project cited concerns that it would help raise
said in a statement. production from the comparatively emis-
The notice was a legacy claim, based on the sions-intensive oil sands. ™
US government’s obligations under the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It
took this form because TC Energy first sought
permission to build the Keystone XL pipeline
before the passage of USMCA, while NAFTA
was still in force.
The statement did not reveal the details of the
company’s complaint. TC Energy has been vocal
in its criticism of the US government’s decision
to revoke a cross-border permit for the pipeline.
Earlier this year, for example, it pointed out that
the cancellation of the project would “directly
lead to the layoff of thousands of union workers.”
The Canadian company officially cancelled
the Keystone XL scheme last month, saying it
had decided against proceeding after a “compre-
hensive review of its options” and consultations
with the provincial government of Alberta, an
investor in the project. This move was essentially
a formality, as TC Energy had halted work on Keystone XL would have carried 830,000 bpd of oil sands crude (Image: TC Energy)

PERFORMANCE
EIA: US LNG exports to overtake

piped gas shipments this year

LNG exports from the US are set to overtake 9.6bn cubic feet (271.81mn cubic metres) per
piped natural gas shipments for the first time day this year and 10.2 bcf (288.86 mcm) per day
this year on the back of expanding domestic in 2022, the Energy Information Administra-
production and new liquefaction capacity com- tion (EIA) said in its Short-Term Energy Out-
ing on stream. look (STEO) for July, which was published on
US LNG exports are expected to average July 7.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 27 08•July•2021