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TC Energy (TRP) to Discontinue Keystone XL Project Construction

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TC Energy Corporation’s (TRP - Free Report) Keystone XL pipeline construction is likely to be discontinued in response to American President Joe Biden’s pledge to suspend the presidential permits to proceed with the project construction.

TC Energy is displeased with Biden’s decision and expects the pipeline’s extensive regulatory reviews to get revoked. The company further decided to terminate more than 1,000 construction jobs in the weeks ahead.

TC Energy notified that the project’s suspension will result in several job cuts even when it intended to use renewable energy sources to power the pipeline system. Moreover, the company signed the local communities as equity owners and stated that the project would have been constructed under a Project Labor Agreement, involving the participation of the entire labor union.

The Keystone XL pipeline system has a carrying capacity of 830,000 barrels of oil export per day from Alberta to Nebraska, and about 200 kilometers of the pipeline has already been installed.

Earlier, the company announced its plan to wipe out more than three million tonnes of CO2 equivalent released every year in order to convince Biden that Keystone XL fits into his “Build Back Better” agenda. Importantly, the plan was expected to boost investments of more than $1.7 billion in communities along the pipeline route, thereby, creating 1.6 gigawatts of renewable electric capacity accompanied by job-creation in rural and local communities.

Project opponents claimed that the production and extraction of oil from oil sands will release more greenhouse gases, and the construction and operation of the pipeline involve risks associated with the water supply and the environment. As a result, the decision to suspend the pipeline construction was made, overlooking the vast economic and strategic advantages of the project.

As far as the project sponsor TC Energy is concerned, it is committed to increase its earnings and dividend payout through investments in critical energy infrastructure despite the Keystone setback.  The company will end the capitalization of the project’s costs, including interest during construction, and will evaluate the carrying amount of investments in the project, the company added.

On its part, apart from Keystone XL, TC Energy’s core business remains stable and is proceeding with secured capital projects worth $25 billion along with a broad portfolio of other high-quality opportunities under development.

Company Profile & Price Performance

Headquartered in Calgary, AB, TC Energy is a premier natural gas-focused midstream energy service provider. The company is also involved in other businesses, including power generation, natural gas storage and crude oil pipelines.

Its shares have underperformed the industry in the past three months. The energy company’s stock has gained 7.4% compared with the industry’s 25.2% growth.

 

 

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

The company currently carries a Zack Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked players in the energy space are Delek Logistics Partners LP (DKL - Free Report) , China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation  and DCP Midstream Partners LP , each currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Delek’s earnings for 2021 are expected to increase 40.4% year over year.

China Petroleum’s earnings for 2021 are expected to increase 25.3% year over year.

DCP Midstream’s earnings for 2021 are expected to increase 218.5% year over year.

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