TransCanada Corporation is a major North American energy company, based in Calgary, Alberta in Canada, that develops and operates energy infrastructure in North America. The company operates three core businesses: Natural Gas Pipelines, Liquids Pipelines and Energy.
The Natural Gas Pipeline network includes 91,900 kilometres (57,104 miles) of gas pipeline which transports more than 25% of North American natural gas demand. The Liquids Pipelines division includes 4,900 kilometres (3,045 miles) of oil pipeline, which ships 555,000 barrels of crude oil per day, approximately 20% of Western Canadian exports. The Energy division owns or has interests in 11 power generation facilities with combined capacity of 6,100 megawatts (MW). These power sources include nuclear, wind, and natural gas fired.
TransCanada is the largest shareholder in, and owns the general partner of, TC PipeLines. The company was founded in 1951 in Calgary.
Video TransCanada Corporation
History
The company was incorporated in 1951 by a Special Act of Parliament as Trans-Canada Pipe Lines Limited. 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.
Seeking the expand its presence in the United States, In 2016 TransCanada acquired Columbia Pipeline Group for US $13 billion. The Columbia acquisition added a pipeline network in Pennsylvania and surrounding states, where the Marcellus and Utica shale gas formations are located.
Maps TransCanada Corporation
Operations
Natural Gas Pipelines
TransCanada'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 TransCanada one of the largest natural gas storage providers in North America. This segment is TransCanada'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.
The major pipeline systems include:
- NGTL System (24,320 km) The natural gas gathering system for the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, which connects most of the natural gas production in western Canada to domestic and export markets. TransCanada has the largest and most extensive natural gas network in Alberta.
- Canadian Mainline (14,077 km) this pipeline serves as a long haul delivery system transporting natural gas from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin across Canada to Ontario and Québec to deliver gas to downstream Canadian and U.S. markets. The pipeline has evolved accommodate additional supply connections closer to its markets. The mainline is over 60 years old
- Columbia Gas (18,113 km) This natural gas transportation system serves the Appalachian Basin, which contains the Marcellus and Utica plays, two of the largest natural gas shale plays in North America. The system also interconnects with other pipelines that provide access to the U.S. Northeast and the Gulf of Mexico.
- ANR Pipeline System (15,109 km) This pipeline system connects supply basins and markets throughout the U.S. Midwest, and south to the Gulf of Mexico. This includes connecting supply in Texas, Oklahoma, the Appalachian Basin and the Gulf of Mexico to markets in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Ohio. In addition, ANR has bi-directional capability on its Southeast Mainline and delivers gas produced from the Appalachian basin to customers throughout the Gulf Coast Region.
- Columbia Gulf (5,377 km) This pipeline system was originally designed as a long haul delivery system transporting supply from the Gulf of Mexico to major demand markets in the U.S. Northeast. The pipeline is now transitioning to a north-to-south flow and expanding to accommodate new supply in the Appalachian Basin and its interconnects with Columbia Gas and other pipelines to deliver gas to various Gulf Coast markets.
- Mexico Pipeline Network (1,680 km) This consists of a growing network of natural gas pipelines in Mexico.
in development projects include:
British Columbia gas export pipelines In June 2012 it was announced that TransCanada was selected by Shell and partners Korea Gas Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation and PetroChina Company Limited to design, build, own and operate the Coastal GasLink pipeline between northeastern B.C. oil fields near Dawson Creek, British Columbia and an LNG export facility on the Douglas Channel near Kitimat, British Columbia.
Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project In January 2013 it was announced that TransCanada was selected by Petronas to design, build, own, and operate 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. 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 annoucnced 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".
Liquids Pipelines
TransCanada's Liquids pipelines connect Alberta crude oil supplies to U.S. refining markets.
- Keystone Pipeline System (4,324 km) The 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.
- Keystone XL (1,906 km) The proposed pipeline will transport crude oil from Hardisty, Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska to expand capacity of the Keystone Pipeline System. In 2017, President Donald Trump granted a U.S. Presidential Permit, TransCanada received approval for a Nebraska pipeline route and secured sufficient commercial support to commence construction preparation for the Keystone XL project. The company expects to begin construction in 2019.
- Grand Rapids (460 km) 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.
Energy
TransCanada'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 are powered by natural gas, nuclear, and wind.
- Western Power These assets include approximately 1,000 MW of power generation capacity through four natural gas-fired cogeneration facilities in Alberta and one in Arizona.
- Eastern Power These assets include approximately 2,900 MW of power generation capacity in Eastern Canada.
- Bruce Power This operates the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario. Comprising eight nuclear units with a combined capacity of approximately 6,400 MW, it is currently the largest operating nuclear power plant in the world. TransCanada holds a 48.4% interest in the asset.
Criticism
Keystone XL Pipeline
TransCanada first proposed the Keystone XL pipeline in 2008. The proposal faced widespread grassroots opposition with tactics including tree sits in the path of the pipeline and civil disobedience by celebrities.
The Keystone XL Pipeline would transport 830,000 barrels of oil per day from the Athabasca oil sands to Steele City, Nebraska upon completion. 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. Critics have raised concerns about the risks of spillage, as the Sandhills region of Nebraska is a fragile ecosystem.
After four years of organizing by those opposed to the Keystone XL, the administration of U.S. President Obama rejected the pipeline on November 3, 2015. 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." Subsequently, Donald Trump signed a presidential permit to allow TransCanada to build the Keystone XL pipeline on March 24, 2017.
This action inspired by Trump inspired another wave of protests and rallies against the pipeline.
Use of Eminent Domain
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. 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. The landowners had said that the pipeline was not open to other companies, and so did not meet the criteria for eminent domain.
Spills
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.
Marshall County, South Dakota leak 2017
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. TransCanada reported it discovered the leak in Amherst, South Dakota, at 6 a.m. on Thursday after systems detected a drop in pressure in the northern leg of the pipeline. The leak was discovered about 35 miles south of the Ludden pump station.
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. 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."
Operational projects
Operational natural gas pipelines
Operational liquids pipelines
Operational power projects
References
External links
- TransCanada Official Webpage
- TransCanada Careers
- Keystone XL Pipeline Official Website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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