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TC Energy (formerly TransCanada Corporation) is a Canadian oil and gas pipeline company. It operates nearly 100,000 kilometers of gas pipelines and 4,900 kilometers of oil pipelines, and is currently working to expand pipeline capacity with its embattled Keystone XL pipeline, which is completely incompatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement. With its current Keystone pipeline leaking substantially more oil than the company anticipated before its construction, TC Energy is responsible for severe environmental pollution in North America. TC Energy is also the company behind the Coastal GasLink pipeline currently under construction in British Columbia, Canada. Not only does TC Energy violate Indigenous rights through the construction of this pipeline, it enables a worsening of the climate crisis.
TC Energy, formerly the TransCanada Corporation and founded in 1951, is a Canadian energy company, based in Calgary, Alberta, developing and operating energy infrastructure in North America. Its pipeline network includes approximately 3,460 kilometers (2,150 miles) of oil pipeline, plus approximately 57,000 kilometers (35,418 miles) of wholly owned and 11,500 kilometers (7,146 miles) of partially owned gas pipeline that connects with all major gas supply basins in North America. TC Energy is one of the continent’s largest providers of gas storage and related services with approximately 407 billion cubic feet of storage capacity.
TC Energy also controls approximately 11,800 megawatts of power generation through various power plants in Canada and the United States. A major acquisition in 2016 was the Columbia Pipeline Group at USD 13 billion.
Social and human rights impacts
The social impacts of TC Energy's Keystone XL Pipeline concern mostly the surrounding local communities (both indigenous and non-indigenous). These implications range from health issues, destruction of local environment, contamination of water, implications on farm production and possible destruction on local indigenous artefacts.
The Keystone XL Pipeline will have major consequences for the human rights of Indigenous people. The Rosebud Sioux, also known as the Sicangu Lakota, reside on a reservation that includes all of Todd County, South Dakota, and additional lands in the four adjacent. Poverty, high unemployment, substandard education and healthcare are all major issues these communities face. Choosing to live on reservations, therefore, can be a powerful statement of sovereignty. To some, it is an act of self-determination intended to stand against centuries of forced-assimilation policies which stripped land, resources and even children from tribal communities.
Keystone XL has brought this hard-won spirit of sovereignty under threat. The plan to expand an existing oil pipeline system, linking oil-rich tar sands in the Canadian province of Alberta with refineries and distributors across the US, would essentially bisect South Dakota, cutting straight through Rosebud Sioux tribal land. Read the full article here.
Environmental and climate impacts
Regarding the Keystone XL Pipeline there are major concerns for the environment, from the original stages of production, to the processing and transportation of the oil. TC Energy put “substandard materials” — made by Quebec manufacturing company, Ezeflow — in an Alberta natural gas pipeline that blew up in 2013, Canada’s pipeline regulator said on February 5 2016 as it finally responded to a four-year old warning from a whistleblower with a new industry-wide safety order (source the National Observer).
A July 2017 Greenpeace report concluded: oil spills anywhere pose serious risks to human health and the environment, and oil spilled into bodies of water is difficult to fully clean up. Diluted bitumen transported from Canada’s tar sands fields represents a particular threat to water resources along the routes of proposed pipelines.
In 2022 ten banks financed TC Energy via lending and underwriting totalling USD 2.27 billion. See below for more details on banks involved.
From 2016 - 2021 financial institutions have provided TC Energy with the following finance:
- Twenty-one financial institutions provided USD 5 billion in revolving credit to its pipeline business in three loans from December 2016. JP Morgan Chase and Bank of Montreal are the lead banks arranging the credit (source www.ran.org);
- Five banks have provided TC Energy USA (Financial statements 2017, p. 145) with a USD 1 billion credit facility maturing on Dec 14 2018, led by JPMorgan Chase and Bank of Montreal;
- Nineteen financial institutions have provided TC Energy American Investment (Financial statements 2017, p. 145) with a USD 500 million credit facility maturing on Dec 14 2018, led by JPMorgan Chase, Bank of Montreal and MUFG;
- In April 2020 TransCanada Pipelines issued two bonds: a USD 2 billion (maturing in April 2027) and a USD 1.25 billion (maturing in April 2030). See below for more details;
- Banks have financed TransCanada Pipelines with three syndicated corporate loans: a CAD 3 billion (Dec 2005 - Dec 2024), a USD 1 billion (Dec 2018 - Dec 2022) and a USD 4.5 billion (Dec 2018 - Dec 2021). See below for more details;
- RBC (9.09%), BMO (4.71%) and TD Bank (2.71%) own via subsidiaries shares of TC Energy. See below for more details.
Applicable norms and standards
TransCanada's webpage on Corporate Social Responsibility can be viewed here.
2020
2020-04-16 00:00:00 | Major blow to Keystone XL pipeline as judge revokes key permit
The controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline has been dealt a major setback, after a judge revoked a key permit issued by the US army corps of engineers without properly assessing the impact on endangered species. In a legal challenge brought by a coalition of environmental groups, a federal judge in Montana ordered the army corps to suspend all filling and dredging activities until it conducts formal consultations compliant with the Endangered Species Act. The ruling revokes the water-crossing permit needed to complete construction of the pipeline, and is expected to cause major delays to the divisive project.
2020-03-31 00:00:00 | TC Energy Keystone XL pipeline moves forward after Alberta commits $1.1 billion, shares rise
TC Energy Corp on Tuesday said it would proceed with its $8 billion Keystone XL pipeline with financial backing from the oil-rich province of Alberta, pushing the long-delayed project forward amid a global oil market collapse. With pre-construction activities underway, TC Energy expects the pipeline to enter service in 2023.
2019
2019-08-23 00:00:00 | Keystone XL pipeline set to go ahead as court lifts last major hurdle
Nebraska’s highest court lifted one of the last major hurdles for the Keystone XL pipeline on Friday when it rejected another attempt to derail the project by opponents who wanted to force the developer to reapply for state approval. The pipeline faces intense resistance from environmental groups, Native American tribes and some landowners along the route who worry about its long-term impact on their groundwater and property rights. But in Nebraska, many affected landowners have accepted the project and are eager to collect payments from the company. The Nebraska supreme court upheld the decision of regulators who voted in November 2017 to green-light a route through the state. The court’s decision was a victory for the $8bn project, which has been mired in lawsuits and regulatory hearings since it was proposed in 2008.
2019-07-01 00:00:00 | 'Trump Is Not Above the Law': New Lawsuit Aims to Defeat Keystone XL
As climate scientists on Monday issued a fresh warning about the devastating consequences of continuing to burn and extract fossil fuels, national green groups filed a new federal lawsuit targeting the Trump administration's efforts to force through the long-delayed Keystone XL crude oil pipeline. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, the same court that halted construction on the dirty energy project last year, ruling that the administration hadn't adequately considered the consequences of the pipeline when approving it. In response, President Donald Trump revoked the initial permit and issued a new one in March. The NRDC and CBD joined with Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, Bold Alliance, and Northern Plains Resource Council in launching the new legal battle, which specifically challenges the Army Corps of Engineers' approval of the pipeline that would transport up to 830,000 barrels of crude oil daily across nearly 1,200 miles from Canada's Alberta tar sands to Steele City, Nebraska.
2019-03-29 00:00:00 | Trump doubles down on Keystone Oil Pipeline with new Permit
President Donald Trump issued a new permit for TransCanada's controversial Keystone XL pipeline Friday, circumventing a court ruling that blocked a previous authorization by his State Department.
The move aims to undercut legal challenges to the $8 billion project, including a November ruling by a Montana-based district judge that faulted the State Department’s previous environmental analysis, according to a person familiar with the matter. It could pave the way for beginning some preliminary work, according to Clearview Energy Partners.
2018
2018-11-08 00:00:00 | Northern Plains Resource Council Wins Keystone XL Lawsuit
Judge Brian Morris levied what could be the final blow to TransCanada’s would-be Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, vacating the 2017 record of decision by President Trump to issue the Presidential Permit for the project. Judge Morris ruled that The State Department’s analysis of the following issues fell short of a “hard look” and requires a supplement to the 2014 SEIS in order to comply with its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Court enjoins prohibits TransCanada from engaging in any activity in furtherance of the construction or operation of Keystone and associated facilities until the Department of State has completed a supplement to the 2014 Environmental Impact Statement that complies with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and Administrative Procedure Act. Read more here.
2018-08-16 00:00:00 | Keystone XL Pipeline Sent Back for New Environmental Review
The U.S. State Department must conduct a new environmental review for the Keystone XL crude pipeline, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris in Montana sided with indigenous and environmental groups in ruling Wednesday that a revised Keystone route is “interdependent” on the larger pipeline project and requires one environmental review (Bloomberg).
2017
2017-11-21 00:00:00 | Nebraska commission approves Keystone XL route
The Keystone XL pipeline passed a major hurdle on Monday after Nebraska regulators approved the route for the project, which faced opposition from environmentalists and the Obama administration. The Nebraska Public Service Commission voted 3 to 2 to approve TransCanada's route for Nebraska's portion of the nearly 1,200-mile pipeline. However, the future of the project is still subject to the outcome of a likely legal battle (CNBC).
2017-10-05 00:00:00 | TransCanada Announces Termination of Energy East Pipeline and Eastern Mainline Projects
October 5 2017, TransCanada announced that it will no longer be proceeding with its proposed Energy East Pipeline and Eastern Mainline projects. Following is a statement from TransCanada President and CEO Russ Girling: "After careful review of changed circumstances, we will be informing the National Energy Board that we will no longer be proceeding with our Energy East and Eastern Mainline applications. TransCanada will also notify Quebec’s Ministère du Developpement durable, de l’Environnement, et Lutte contre les changements climatiques that it is withdrawing the Energy East project from the environmental review process."
2017-03-30 00:00:00 | Environmental groups sue Trump administration for approving Keystone pipeline
Several environmental groups filed lawsuits against the Trump administration on Thursday to challenge its decision to approve construction of TransCanada Corp’s controversial Keystone XL crude oil pipeline. In two separate filings to a federal court in Montana, environmental groups argued that the U.S. State Department, which granted the permit needed for the pipeline to cross the Canadian border, relied on an “outdated and incomplete environmental impact statement” when making its decision earlier this month.
2017-03-24 00:00:00 | President Trump approves construction of Keystone XL pipeline
President Donald Trump has approved the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline linking Canadian oil sands to U.S. refiners, a project blocked by former President Barack Obama. TransCanada said earlier in the day the U.S. Department of State had issued a presidential permit for the project (source CNBC).