| TC Energy Corporation | |
| Type: | Public |
| Industry: | Energy |
| Hq Location: | 450 1 Street SW Calgary, Alberta T2P 5H1 |
| Key People: | François Poirier (president and CEO) |
| Revenue: | CA$13.387 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021)[1] |
| Operating Income: | CA$2.166 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021) |
| Net Income: | CA$2.046 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021) |
| Assets: | CA$104.218 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021) |
| Equity: | CA$33.396 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021) |
| Num Employees: | 7,000 |
TC Energy Corporation (formerly TransCanada Corporation) is a major North American energy company, based in the TC Energy Tower building in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, that develops and operates energy infrastructure in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The company operates three core businesses: Natural Gas Pipelines, Liquids Pipelines and Energy.
The Natural Gas Pipeline network includes 926000NaN0 of gas pipeline, which transports more than 25% of North American natural gas demand. The Liquids Pipelines division includes 49000NaN0 of oil pipeline, which ships 590,000 barrels of crude oil per day, which is about 20% of Western Canadian exports. The Energy division owns or has interests in 11 power generation facilities with combined capacity of 6,600 megawatts (MW). These power sources include nuclear and natural gas fired.[2] The company is expanding its energy division to include more renewable sources including pumped storage, wind, and solar generation.[3] [4] [5] [6]
The company was founded in 1951 in Calgary.[7] The company's US headquarters is located in the TC Energy Center skyscraper in Houston, Texas.[8]
TC Energy is the largest shareholder in, and owns the general partner of, TC PipeLines.
The company was incorporated in 1951 by a Special Act of Parliament as Trans-Canada Pipe Lines Limited.[9] The purpose of the company was to develop the TransCanada pipeline (now known as the Canadian Mainline) to supply eastern Canadian markets with natural gas produced in the west.
In 1998, TransCanada Pipelines merged with NOVA Corporation's pipeline business, keeping the TransCanada name and becoming "the fourth largest energy services company in North America".[10]
Seeking to expand its presence in the United States, in 2016, TransCanada acquired Columbia Pipeline Group (CPG) for US$13 billion from NiSource's Shareholders. The CPG acquisition added a pipeline network in Pennsylvania and surrounding states, where the Marcellus and Utica shale gas formations are located.[11]
In May 2019, the company changed its name from TransCanada Corporation to TC Energy Corporation to better reflect the company's business, which includes pipelines, power generation and energy storage operations in Canada, the United States and Mexico.[12] [13] [14]
In October 2019, the 56-story Bank of America Center skyscraper in Houston, Texas was renamed as TC Energy Center and serves as the company's US headquarters.[8] [15]
TC Energy's natural gas pipelines business builds, owns and operates a network of natural gas pipelines across North America that connects gas production to interconnects and end use markets. The company transports over 25% of continental daily natural gas demand through 91,900 km (57,100 mi) of pipelines. In addition, the company owns 535 Bcf of natural gas storage facilities, making TC Energy one of the largest natural gas storage providers in North America. This segment is TC Energy's largest segment, generating approximately two-thirds of the company's EBITDA in 2017. The Natural Gas Pipelines business is split into three operating segments: Canadian Natural Gas Pipelines, U.S. Natural Gas Pipelines, and Mexico Natural Gas Pipelines.[2]
The major pipeline systems include:
Projects in development include:
Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project — In June 2012 it was announced that TransCanada was selected by Shell and LNG Canada partners Korea Gas Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation and PetroChina Company Limited (to which Petronas of Malaysia was added in 2018) to design, build, own and operate[19] the Coastal GasLink pipeline between northeastern B.C. gas fields near Dawson Creek, British Columbia, and the LNG Canada LNG liquefaction, storage and export facility in the port of Kitimat, on the Douglas Channel.[20] [21] [22] [23] The investment and construction decisions for the LNG Canada and Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project were officially confirmed early October 2018, for completion by 2024–2025. However, hereditary chiefs of the Wetʼsuwetʼen have denied consent to construct the pipeline on the company's preferred route through culturally and ecologically sensitive lands in their unceded territory, leading to nationwide protests.[24] [25]
Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project — In January 2013 it was announced that TransCanada was selected by Petronas to design, build, own, and operate[26] the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project, a gas pipeline that would transport natural gas from the Montney region near Fort St. John, British Columbia to a LNG terminal planned by Progress Energy Canada Ltd. in Port Edward, British Columbia on Lelu Island near Prince Rupert, British Columbia.[27] The project faced opposition from the Gitxsan first nation due to concerns about the impact it would have on salmon in the Skeena River. On July 25, 2017, Petronas announced they were abandoning the Pacific NorthWest LNG proposal and TransCanada said they were "reviewing our options related to our proposed Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) project".[28] On March 14, 2024 TC Energy announced the sale of the project to the Nisga'a Nation and Western LNG.[29]
Two TC Energy's Liquids pipelines connect Alberta crude oil supplies to U.S. refining markets.,[2] the Keystone Pipeline System and the Grand Rapids pipelines. The 460 km-Grand Rapids pipeline transports crude oil from the producing area northwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, to the Edmonton/Heartland, Alberta market region. In October 2012, TransCanada formed a 50–50 CAD$3bn joint-venture with Phoenix Energy Holdings Ltd. (the Canadian subsidiary of PetroChina) to develop the 500 km Grand Rapids Pipeline.[30]
The 4,324 km-Keystone Pipeline System transports crude oil from Hardisty, Alberta, to U.S. markets at Wood River and Patoka, Illinois, Cushing, Oklahoma, and the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Keystone System transports approximately 20% of Western Canadian crude oil to export markets. The Keystone Pipeline has had three significant leaks since it opened in 2010. It has leaked approximately 400 barrels in North Dakota in 2011 and South Dakota in 2016, and approximately 5000 barrels in South Dakota in 2017.[31]
A third pipeline, the 1,906 km-long Keystone XL Pipeline — which is an expansion of the Keystone Pipeline System — began construction in 2020. When completed, the Keystone XL Pipeline will transport 830,000 barrels of Athabasca oil sands crude oil per day from the Hardisty, Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska.
TC Energy had first proposed the Keystone XL pipeline in 2008.[32] The proposal faced widespread grassroots opposition with tactics including tree sits in the path of the pipeline[33] and civil disobedience by celebrities.[34] Critics state that by developing the oil sands, fossil fuels will be readily available and the trend toward warming of the atmosphere won't be curbed. The fate of the pipeline is therefore held up as symbolic of America's energy future.[35] Critics have raised concerns about the risks of spillage, as the Sandhills region of Nebraska is a fragile ecosystem.
In October 2011, TransCanada was involved in up to 56 separate eminent domain actions against landowners in Texas and South Dakota who refused to give permission to the company to build the Keystone Pipeline through their land.[36] However, on August 23, 2012, Texas Judge Bill Harris ruled that TransCanada had the right of eminent domain and could lease or purchase land from owners who refused to sign an agreement with the company for a public right of way for the pipeline.[37] The landowners had said that the pipeline was not open to other companies, and so did not meet the criteria for eminent domain.[38]
U.S. President Barack Obama rejected the pipeline on November 3, 2015.[39] [40]
Early in his tenure in 2017, President Donald Trump signed presidential memoranda to revive both Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. The order would expedite the environmental review that Trump described as an "incredibly cumbersome, long, horrible permitting process".[41]
In 2017, Trump signed a U.S. Presidential Permit to allow TransCanada to build the Nebraska pipeline route of the Keystone XL. TransCanada secured sufficient commercial support to commence construction preparation.[42] [43]
This action by Trump inspired another wave of protests and rallies against the pipeline.[44]
In March 2020, Premier Jason Kenney of Alberta, agreed to help finance the construction of TC Energy's Keystone XL oil sands pipeline in southern Alberta, Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska with a CA$7.5 billion (US$5.3 billion) financing agreement.[45] According to The New York Times, despite the coronavirus pandemic, a down turn in the global economy, and "plunging oil prices", Premier Kenney said that Alberta could not afford "for Keystone XL to be delayed." With this financial agreement, the Alberta government gained a US$1.1-billion ownership stake in the 1,947-kilometre pipeline which will "575,000 barrels of oil daily".[46] The province intends to sell its shares to TC Energy "after commercial operations begin."[47] Alberta also gave a full guarantee on a US$4.2-billion project loan.[47] The $USD1.1 billion equity covers construction costs from April through December 2020. TC Energy will also invest CA$.7 billion. The Alberta government are also providing a fully guaranteed CA$4.2 billion loan for the project.[48] [46] The premier also said that over the next twenty years, the financial benefits to Alberta through tax and royalty revenue would be approximately CA$30 billion.[48] In response to Alberta's financial support, in March, TC Energy "approved construction of the US$8-billion project to transport up to 830,000 barrels per day of oil." According to a Canadian Press March 31, 2020 article Premier Kenney estimated that "1,400 direct and 5,400 indirect jobs" would be created in Alberta during construction.[48] In September 2020, TC Energy announced that it would be restructuring some of its gas pipeline operations in Alberta.[47]
In April, shortly after construction on Keystone XL began, Judge Brian M. Morris of the Federal District Court in Montana suspended the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)'s program allowing permits for pipelines to cross waterways, in spite of the Clean Water Act (CWA). Judge Morris said that the USACE pipeline permits "posed a threat to endangered species" and its reauthorization in 2017, had been improper. In July 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to block Judge Morris' ruling, effectively halting all construction on the XL Pipeline.[49]
In September 2020, the Nekaneet Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, the Ermineskin Cree Nation, Montana First Nation, Louis Bull Tribe, and Saddle Lake Cree Nation in Alberta signed a memoranda of understanding (MOU) for an ownership stake in Keystone XL.[50]
In a Canadian Press article Calgary energy reporter, Dan Healing, wrote that Keystone XL's future was "still in doubt"—if Presidential candidate Joe Biden wins the November 3, 2020 United States presidential election, he would fulfill his promise to cancel the pipeline's "vital presidential permit."[50]
In January 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden revoked the project’s presidential permit.[51]
On November 16, 2017, oil leaked from the pipeline in Marshall County, South Dakota, for 15 minutes before the flow of oil could be stopped. The company reported the amount as over 210,000 gallons.[52] TransCanada reported it discovered the leak in Amherst, South Dakota, at 6 am on Thursday after systems detected a drop in pressure in the northern leg of the pipeline.[53] The leak was discovered about 35 miles south of the Ludden pump station.[54]
In April 2018, a federal investigation showed that the spill was almost twice as large as TransCanada had claimed in November, and that it was the seventh-largest onshore oil spill since 2002. The study showed that 407,000 gallons, not 210,000 gallons, had spilled.[55] Also in April 2018, Reuters reviewed documents that showed that Keystone had "leaked substantially more oil, and more often, in the United States than the company indicated to regulators in risk assessments before operations began in 2010".[56]
TC Energy's Energy division consists of power generation and unregulated natural gas storage assets. The power business consists of approximately 7,000 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity owned or under development. These assets are located primarily in Canada and are powered by natural gas, nuclear, and wind.[2]
TC Energy has proposed two pumped storage projects and one solar project to store and supply clean energy. The Ontario Pumped Storage Project[57] near Meaford, Ontario would provide 1000 MW of clean energy and the proposed Canyon Creek Pumped Storage Project near Hinton, Alberta would provide 75 MW of clean energy.[3] [4] The proposed Saddlebrook Solar + Storage project in Aldersyde, Alberta would consist of 102.5 MW of solar generation with utility-scale energy storage.[5]
As of March 2024, 83.5% of the share capital of TC Energy is owned by institutional investors. The dominant shareholder is the Royal Bank of Canada, which owns over 9% of the company. Canada's Big Five (banks) own almost 23% of the outstanding share capital.[58] Significant holdings accrue to the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and the OMERS.[59]
| Name | Country | Length | TransCanada's participation | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NGTL System | Canada | 243200NaN0 | 100 | Receives, transports and delivers natural gas within Alberta and B.C., and connects with the Canadian Mainline, Foothills system and third-party pipelines. | |
| Canadian Mainline | Canada | 140770NaN0 | 100 | Transports natural gas from the Alberta/Saskatchewanborder and the Ontario/U.S. border to serve eastern Canada and interconnects to the U.S. | |
| Foothills | Canada | 12410NaN0 | 100 | Transports natural gas from central Alberta to the U.S. border for export to the U.S. Midwest, PacificNorthwest, California and Nevada | |
| Trans Québec & Maritimes | Canada | 5720NaN0 | 50 | Connects with the Canadian Mainline near the Ontario/Québec border to transport natural gas to the Montréal to Québec City corridor, and interconnects with the Portland pipeline system that serves the northeast U.S. | |
| Ventures LP | Canada | 1610NaN0 | 100 | Transports natural gas to the oil sands region near Fort McMurray, Alberta. It also includes a 27 km (17 mile) pipeline supplying natural gas to a petrochemical complex at Joffre, Alberta. | |
| Great Lakes Canada | Canada | 580NaN0 | 100 | Transports natural gas from the Great Lakes system in the U.S. to Ontario, near Dawn, through a connection at the U.S. border underneath the St. Clair River | |
| ANR | United States | 151090NaN0 | 100 | Transports natural gas from various supply basins to markets throughout the Midwest and Gulf Coast. | |
| Bison | United States | 4880NaN0 | 25.7 | Transports natural gas from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming to Northern Border in North Dakota. | |
| Columbia Gas | United States | 181130NaN0 | 100 | Transports natural gas from supply primarily in the Appalachian Basin to markets throughout the U.S. Northeast. | |
| Columbia Gulf | United States | 53770NaN0 | 100 | Transports natural gas to various markets and pipeline interconnects in the southern U.S. and Gulf Coast. | |
| Crossroads | United States | 3250NaN0 | 100 | Interstate natural gas pipeline operating in Indiana and Ohio with multiple interconnects to other pipelines. | |
| Gas Transmission Northwest | United States | 22160NaN0 | 25.7 | Transports WCSB and Rockies natural gas to Washington, Oregon and California. Connects with Tuscarora and Foothills. | |
| Great Lakes | United States | 34040NaN0 | 65.5 | Connects with the Canadian Mainline near Emerson, Manitoba, and to Great Lakes Canada near St Clair, Ontario, plus interconnects with ANR at Crystal Falls and Farwell in Michigan, to transport natural gas to eastern Canada and the U.S. Upper Midwest | |
| Iroquois | United States | 6690NaN0 | 13.4 | Connects with the Canadian Mainline and serves markets in New York. | |
| Millennium | United States | 4070NaN0 | 47.5 | Natural gas pipeline supplied by local production, storage fields and interconnecting upstream pipelines to serve markets along its route and to the U.S. Northeast. | |
| North Baja | United States | 1380NaN0 | 25.7 | Transports natural gas between Arizona and California, and connects with a third-party pipeline on the California/ Mexico border. | |
| Northern Border | United States | 22720NaN0 | 12.9 | Transports WCSB, Bakken and Rockies natural gas from connections with Foothills and Bison to U.S. Midwest markets. | |
| Portland | United States | 4750NaN0 | 15.9 | Connects with TQM near East Hereford, Québec to deliver natural gas to customers in the U.S. Northeast. | |
| Tuscarora | United States | 4910NaN0 | 25.7 | Transports natural gas from GTN at Malin, Oregon to markets in northeastern California and northwestern Nevada. | |
| Guadalajara | Mexico | 3150NaN0 | 100 | Transports natural gas from Manzanillo, Colima to Guadalajara, Jalisco. | |
| Mazatlán | Mexico | 4910NaN0 | 100 | Transports natural gas from El Oro to Mazatlán, Sinaloa inMexico. Connects to the Topolobampo Pipeline at El Oro | |
| Tamazunchale | Mexico | 3750NaN0 | 100 | Transports natural gas from Naranjos, Veracruz in east central Mexico to Tamazunchale, San Luis Potosí and on to El Sauz, Querétaro. | |
| Topolobampo | Mexico | 5600NaN0 | 100 | Transports natural gas to Topolobampo, Sinaloa, from interconnects with third-party pipelines in El Oro, Sinaloa and El Encino, Chihuahua in Mexico |
| Name | Country | Length | TransCanada's participation | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keystone Pipeline System | Canada | 43240NaN0 | 100 | Transports crude oil from Hardisty, Alberta, to U.S. markets at Wood River and Patoka, Illinois, Cushing, Oklahoma, and the U.S. Gulf Coast. | |
| Marketlink | Canada | 100 | Terminal and pipeline facilities to transport crude oil from the market hub at Cushing, Oklahoma to the U.S. Gulf Coast refining markets on facilities that form part of the Keystone Pipeline System. | ||
| Grand Rapids | Canada | 4600NaN0 | 50 | Transports crude oil from the producing area northwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, to the Edmonton/Heartland, Alberta, market region | |
| Northern Courier | Canada | 900NaN0 | 100 | Transports bitumen and diluent between the Fort Hills mine site and Suncor Energy's terminal located north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. |
| Name | Fuel Type | Net Installed Capacity (MW) | TransCanada's participation | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Creek | Natural Gas | 100 | 100 | Cogeneration plant in Grande Prairie, Alberta. | |
| Carseland | Natural Gas | 95 | 100 | Cogeneration plant in Carseland, Alberta. | |
| Mackay River | Natural Gas | 205 | 100 | Cogeneration plant in Fort McMurray, Alberta. | |
| Redwater | Natural Gas | 46 | 100 | Cogeneration plant in Redwater, Alberta. | |
| Bécancour | Natural Gas | 550 | 100 | Cogeneration plant in Trois-Rivières, Québec. | |
| Grandview | Natural Gas | 90 | 100 | Cogeneration plant in Saint John, New Brunswick. | |
| Bruce | Nuclear | 3099 | 48.4 | As part of Bruce Power Limited Partnership. Eight operating reactors in Tiverton, Ontario. Bruce Power leases the eight nuclear facilities from OPG. |
In 2019 TransCanada aided the drafting of anti-protest legislation in South Dakota. The legislation, which Governor Kristi Noem signed into law in March 2019, created a fund to cover the costs of policing pipeline protests, and was accompanied by another law which sought to raise revenue for the fund by creating civil penalties for advising, directing, or encouraging persons participating in rioting. In response to the law Noem was sued by the Indigenous Environmental Network, Sierra Club, and other groups, who argued the laws violate First Amendment rights by incentivizing the state to sue protesters.[60]
Clinton W. Murchison, 1951–1954
N. Eldon Tanner, 1954–1957
Charles S. Coates, 1957–1958
James W. Kerr, 1958–1968
Vernon L. Horte, 1968–1972
George W. Woods, 1972–1979
Radcliffe R. Latimer, 1979–1985
Gerald J. Maier, 1985–1993
George W. Watson, 1993–1999
Douglas D. Baldwin, 1999–2001
Harold N. Kvisle, 2001–2010
Russell K. Girling, 2010–2021
François L. Poirier, 2021–
N. Eldon Tanner, 1957–1958
Charles S. Coates, 1958–1961
James W. Kerr, 1961–1979
John M. Beddome, 1979–1983
Gordon P. Osler, 1983–1989
J. V. Raymond Cyr, 1989–1991
Gerald J. Maier, 1991–1998
Richard F. Haskayne, 1998–2005
S. Barry Jackson, 2005–2016
Siim A. Vanaselja, 2016–