Kinder Morgan announced Sunday it is suspending all non-essential spending on the Trans Mountain expansion project to the Pacific Coast, citing the opposition of British Columbia’s government as the main reason for the decision.
The company said it will hold consultations with various parties in the weeks ahead in an attempt to reach an agreement by May 31 that will allow the project to proceed. The consultations will focus on ensuring “clarity” on the ability to construct through B.C., and adequate protection of shareholders, Kinder Morgan said in a news release.
“As KML has repeatedly stated, we will be judicious in our use of shareholder funds. In keeping with that commitment, we have determined that in the current environment, we will not put KML shareholders at risk on the remaining project spend,” KML chairman and chief executive officer Steve Kean said in the release.
“A company cannot resolve differences between governments. While we have succeeded in all legal challenges to date, a company cannot litigate its way to an in-service pipeline amidst jurisdictional differences between governments.”
The move could be seen as an attempt to force movement on the issue, which has been the subject of political and legal wrangling in recent months.
The project was approved in 2016 by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and has the support of the Alberta and Saskatchewan governments. But B.C.’s NDP Premier John Horgan, who took power last spring with backing from the province’s Green party, has vowed to use every tool at his disposal to block the project.
The $7.4-billion pipeline expansion to the West Coast from Alberta would nearly triple the capacity of the current pipeline system to 890,000 barrels a day.
Source: http://edmontonjournal.com/news/politics/kinder-morgan-to-suspend-all-non-essential-spending-on-trans-mountain-project