Tausi Insider

Indigenous investors are lining up to bid on Canadian pipelines TC Energy Corp. put up for auction this week as part of a $5-billion asset sale program. On Wednesday, TC Energy chief executive François Poirier outlined plans to sell several projects by the end of 2023 to help fund the Calgary-based company’s expansion, which is projected to cost $34-billion. Along with raising cash, he said streamlining one of North America’s largest pipeline operators would drive “simplicity of corporate structure and the impact on our ability to achieve our sustainability goals.” While Mr. Poirier steered clear of naming specific pipelines, analysts said two Alberta oil sands projects are candidates for sale. In a report, analyst Robert Hope at Scotiabank predicted TC Energy will sell its 50-per-cent stake in the 460-kilometre Grand Rapids pipeline, which connects refineries near Edmonton to oil sands properties north of Fort McMurray, and the 72-kilometre White Spruce pipeline, which feeds into Gr...

As TC Energy Corp TRP-T prepares to unload C$5-billion (US$3.7-billion) in assets next year, investors and analysts say the North American pipeline operator has plenty of options without touching its core gas business. Chief executive Francois Poirier cleared up any ambiguities this week when asked how much of TC’s portfolio is in the shop window. “I remember reading a book once called Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers ,” Mr. Poirier said at the company’s investor day. “There are no sacred cows.” Calgary, Alta.-based TC is widely known for its Keystone oil pipeline, a critical artery for moving Canadian oil to U.S. refiners that dominated headlines over the past decade for an expansion that ultimately failed. But moving natural gas around the United States, Canada and Mexico is the bigger part of TC’s business. TC should consider selling Keystone along with its stake in Ontario’s Bruce Power nuclear facility, since they are not part of its core business, said Rob Thummel, senior port...

Pfizer Inc PFE-N and Clear Creek Bio Inc on Tuesday announced a collaboration to identify a potential drug candidate and develop a new class of oral treatment against COVID-19, as Pfizer seeks to expand its anti-infective pipeline. Charlotte Allerton, Pfizer’s chief scientific officer, said COVID-19 has “the potential to remain a global health concern for years to come.” Pfizer already has a COVID-19 antiviral pill Paxlovid, which the drugmaker expects to generate about $22-billion in revenue this year. Pfizer has been making various deals to boost its portfolio. This year, it has announced acquisitions of Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co and Global Blood Therapeutics for $11.6-billion and $5.4-billion, respectively, and also launched a company with Roivant Sciences focused on an experimental bowel disease treatment. Under the agreement with Clear Creek Bio, the pharmaceutical giant will pay an undisclosed amount upfront as well as make additional milestone payments along with roya...

Oil prices edged lower on Thursday on the prospect of a major crude pipeline that shut after a leak resuming service, which would return a hefty amount of crude to the market at a time when global economic slowdowns are raising fuel demand fears. Brent crude lost 50 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to $76.67 a barrel by 1:37 p.m. EST (1837 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude shed 16 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $71.85. Canada’s TC Energy said it shut its 622,000 barrel-per-day Keystone pipeline, which is the primary line shipping heavy Canadian crude from Alberta to the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast, after a spill into a Kansas creek. Oil prices rose after the company announced the closure, which occurred at about 8 p.m. CT Wednesday (0200 GMT Thursday), but market sentiment has since shifted. “The concern about the Keystone situation is just not there anymore, and I think that will get back up and running in no time so it won’t be a material loss of crude...,” said John Kilduff,...

TC Energy TRP-T shut its Keystone pipeline in the United States after more than 14,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into a creek in Kansas, making it one of the largest crude spills in the United States in nearly a decade. The cause of the leak, which occurred in Kansas about 20 miles (32 km) south of a key junction in Steele City, Nebraska, is unknown. It is the third spill of several thousand barrels of crude on the pipeline since it first opened in 2010. The 622,000 barrel-per-day Keystone line is a critical artery shipping heavy Canadian crude from Alberta to refiners in the U.S. Midwest and the Gulf Coast. It is unclear how long the closure will last. There have been no effects on drinking water wells or the public, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency said in a statement, though surface water of Mill Creek was affected. Kellan Ashford, spokesperson for EPA Region 7, which includes Kansas, said the cause of the leak was still unclear on Thursday evening. TC had mobilized arou...

A remediation company deploys a boom on the surface of an oil spill after a Keystone pipeline ruptured at Mill Creek in Washington County, Kansas, on Dec. 8. Kyle Bauer/The Associated Press An oil spill that shut TC Energy’s TRP-T Keystone pipeline in the United States on Wednesday could squeeze crude inventories at the country’s primary storage hub and in two main refining regions, the Midwest and Gulf Coast, analysts and traders said on Friday. The Keystone line is a key artery bringing more than 600,000 barrels of Canadian crude per day (bpd) to various parts of the United States. It was shut late Wednesday after leaking more than 14,000 barrels of oil into a creek in Kansas, making it the largest crude spill in the United States in nearly a decade. Canadian crude prices have already slumped on the news, widening on Thursday to a discount of roughly $33 per barrel to benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) – which is currently trading at about $72 a barrel – from abo...

Emergency crews work to clean up the largest U.S. crude oil spill in nearly a decade, following the leak at the Keystone pipeline operated by TC Energy in rural Washington County, Kansas, on Dec. 9. DRONE BASE/Reuters Canada’s TC Energy TCP-T said on Sunday it has not yet determined the cause of the Keystone oil pipeline leak last week in the United States, while also not giving a timeline as to when the pipeline will resume operation. TC shut the pipeline after more than 14,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into a creek in Kansas on Wednesday, making it one of the largest U.S. crude spills in nearly a decade. “Our teams continue to actively investigate the cause of the incident. We have not confirmed a timeline for re-start and will only resume service when it is safe to do so, and with the approval of the regulator,” TC said in an update posted to its website. The pipeline operator said that it has more than 250 people working on the leak, including third-party environmental special...

Emergency crews after a leak at the Keystone pipeline, in Washington County, Kan., on Dec. 9. DRONE BASE/Reuters U.S. government data shows spills from TC Energy Corp.’s TRP-T Keystone pipeline have increased in severity in recent years. The Calgary-based company has more than 250 people on the ground in Washington County, Kan., cleaning up the approximately 14,000 barrels of oil that leaked into a creek last week. The spill is the largest in the history of the 4,324-km Keystone pipeline. A report last year from the U.S. Government Accountability Office said pipelines are considered to be much safer than moving oil by truck or rail, and Keystone’s safety record since 2010 is similar to that of other crude pipelines. But the report also said Keystone’s safety record in the last five years is worse than the national average. In addition to last week’s spill, the pipeline suffered leaks in 2017 and 2019. TC Energy has not yet indicated the cause of last week’s spill. The Keystone pipeli...

Cleanup continues after an oil leak from the Keystone pipeline, in Washington County, Kan., on Dec. 9. The Associated Press Traders expressed worry on Monday about how long Canada’s TC Energy Corp TRP-T would take to clean up the largest U.S. crude oil spill in nearly a decade and restart its Keystone oil pipeline after more than 14,000 barrels of oil leaked last week. TC Energy shut the pipeline after the spill was discovered late last Wednesday in Kansas. The company told officials in Washington County, Kansas, on Monday that they have not yet determined the cause and that they started excavating around the pipeline. TC Energy and the county officials met briefly Monday to discuss efforts to contain and clean up the spill, a company official said. The meeting was “uneventful,” lasting 13 minutes, said Dan Thalmann, owner of the Washington County News. TC Energy provided no timeline on the cleanup, Thalmann said. The company told the county it was expanding efforts to vacuum oil fro...

Canada’s TC Energy Corp TRP-T is resuming operations in a section of its Keystone pipeline a week after a leak of more than 14,000 barrels of oil in rural Kansas triggered the whole pipe’s shutdown. The company said in a statement on Wednesday that it had given notice to regulators and customers about the restart of pipeline sections unaffected by the incident. The segment of the pipeline where the incident occurred remains sealed off. “This restart facilitates safe transportation of the energy that customers and North Americans rely on and extends from Hardisty, Alberta, to Wood River/Patoka, Illinois,” TC Energy said. The 622,000 barrels per day (bpd) pipe has been shut since Dec. 7, when the leak was discovered. Oil sprayed nearby pastures and leaked into Mill Creek before being shut by operator TC Energy. More than 300 people are involved in the cleanup. The timeline for the full restart of the pipeline remained uncertain, and neither a root cause failure analysis nor a full rest...

Emergency crews work to clean up a leak from the Keystone pipeline, in Washington County, Kan., on Dec. 9. DRONE BASE/Reuters The oil spilled from TC Energy Corp’s ruptured Keystone pipeline was diluted bitumen, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said on Thursday, adding complications to the cleanup. The 622,000 barrels per day (bpd) pipeline was shut since last week after it spilled 14,000 barrels of oil in rural Kansas, including into a creek. The parts of the pipeline carrying oil from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Illinois opened on Wednesday, leaving the ruptured part that extends from south of Steele City, Nebraska to a storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma closed. Bitumen from Canada’s oil sands is a dense, thick form of oil that shippers dilute with lighter oils so it can move through pipelines. The resulting product is called dilbit for short. A 2016 National Academy of Sciences study for the U.S. Department of Transportation examined whether transporting dilbit c...

Oil prices rose by more than $2 a barrel on Wednesday after data showed a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude stockpiles, but gains were capped by a snowstorm that is expected to hit U.S. travel. Brent crude futures for February delivery were up by $2.21, or 2.76%, at $82.20 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained $2.06, or 2.7%, to $78.29. U.S. crude inventories fell by 5.89 million barrels, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), compared with estimates for a drop of 1.66 million barrels. Data from the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday showed a 3.1 million barrel draw in the week to Dec. 16, market sources said. “This report is very bullish, especially with the fact that there’s a draw from the crude oil equation and distillate inventories stopped their streak of builds ahead of the cold blast,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures group. Distillate inventories fell by 242,000 barrels, according to EIA ...

Crews cleanup the area near a leak in the Keystone pipeline, in Washington County, Kan., on Dec. 9. The Associated Press TC Energy Corp. TRP-T has received regulatory approval to restart the remaining segment of the Keystone pipeline that has been shut down since suffering its worst oil spill in the pipeline’s history on Dec. 7. The Calgary-based company said Friday the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has approved a restart plan for the 154-km stretch of pipeline that runs from just south of Steele City, Nebraska to Cushing, Oklahoma. The company said its restart plan will take several days and will include rigorous testing and inspections. It did not provide a date for when the entire pipeline system will be fully operational again. Immediately following the spill, which saw 14,000 barrels of oil released into a creek in Washington County, Kan., TC Energy shut down the Keystone pipeline system, which stretches 4,324 km and helps transport Canadian and U.S...

An explosion occurred Friday in a gas pipeline in central Lithuania, officials said. Baltic media reported that it caused no injuries but sent flames up to 50 meters (164 feet) high and forced the protective evacuation of a nearby village. The operator of Lithuania’s natural gas transmission system, AB Amber Grid, said there are two parallel pipelines, and “initial data indicate that the explosion occurred in one of them. The other pipeline was not damaged” The gas supply through the damaged pipeline in the Pasvalys area was immediately interrupted. “We immediately started to investigate the circumstances of the incident and ensure gas supply to consumers,” Nemunas Biknius, Amber Grid CEO said in a statement. He said the government had been informed. Lithuanian broadcaster LRT said the village of Valakeliai, with about 250 inhabitants, was being evacuated as a precaution. According to the Baltic News Service, the pipeline carries natural gas from Klaipeda in Lithuania to Latvia. Klai...

Canada’s TC Energy Corp TRP-T is resuming operations in a section of its Keystone pipeline a week after a leak of more than 14,000 barrels of oil in rural Kansas triggered the whole pipe’s shutdown. The company said in a statement on Wednesday that it had given notice to regulators and customers about the restart of pipeline sections unaffected by the incident. The segment of the pipeline where the incident occurred remains sealed off. “This restart facilitates safe transportation of the energy that customers and North Americans rely on and extends from Hardisty, Alberta, to Wood River/Patoka, Illinois,” TC Energy said. The 622,000 barrels per day (bpd) pipe has been shut since Dec. 7, when the leak was discovered. Oil sprayed nearby pastures and leaked into Mill Creek before being shut by operator TC Energy. More than 300 people are involved in the cleanup. The timeline for the full restart of the pipeline remained uncertain, and neither a root cause failure analysis nor a full rest...