In The Media

Federal backstopping of pipeline project might not be enough to convince Kinder Morgan to break ground

by Tony Seekus (feat. Dennis McConaghy)

CBC News
May 17, 2018

In the corridors of Alberta's legislature and around the oilpatch, federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau's commitment to backstop construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline project was greeted with optimism Wednesday.

For a project that's been devoid of much hope recently, this was no small feat.

But Ottawa's promise of financial indemnity, which is basically a big insurance policy if Kinder Morgan has to pay for delays caused by the B.C. government, is not a silver bullet for the challenges still confronting the project. Nor is it a guarantee Kinder Morgan will decide by month's end to break ground on the $7.4-billion pipeline that would ship heavy oil to the West Coast.