Yet another great example of how impossible it is for a democratic discussion for the people of all of North America to be commenced without a realistic environmental impacts assessment from the tarsands-- an assessment that must take place for the entire continent, necessary components therein, and all of the "natural extensions" that will "guarantee the lifetime" of this or that pipeline (For example in the Mackenzie Valley-- stage one of the pipeline would ultimately lead to a decimation of the Colville Lake/Sahtu region through a gazillion and one gas pads).
The Keystone Pipeline is absolutely needed to the ability of the tarsands output to get to "market"-- so when these proposals are released, they are on the "natural" heels of the prior planned pipes, leaving us with a "new assessment" of the new line. But the "new" line on the old proposal is really part of the old proposal, which is really a part of the tarsands, which are themselves-- when looked at this proper way-- one single gigaproject, the largest in human recorded history, and impacting ecosystems from every conceivable corner of Turtle Island.
TransCanada is looking only to extend the tarsands project. Keystone is the name of this component of the gigaproject. They see it this way-- so must we.
--M
TransCanada hunting for more pipeline buys: CEO
Fri Apr 27, 2007
By Scott Haggett
http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&stor...
CALGARY (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp. is prowling for pipeline acquisitions to carry oil to the U.S. Gulf coast, the company's chief executive said, as it looks for a way to extend the reach of a line that will carry Canadian oil to Cushing, Oklahoma.
Speaking to reporters after the company's annual meeting, Hal Kvisle said buying a line would be the most profitable way to lengthen the company's planned US$2.1 billion, 435,000 barrel a day Keystone pipeline from its end point in Cushing to the refineries of the coast.
"We're certainly interested," if a suitable pipeline came up for sale, he said.
The comments came after TransCanada said first-quarter profit slipped 2.9 percent from a year-earlier period inflated by one-time gains.
Canadian oil sands producers are set to triple output from northern Alberta to about 3 million barrels a day within a decade. That forecast has prompted a flurry of new proposals, from TransCanada and rivals, to build new pipelines or expand existing ones to find new markets for the crude.
One of the most attractive markets is the cluster of refineries on the Gulf Coast, but most pipelines run north from there to Cushing.
Kvisle said TransCanada would be a potential buyer for any line that could be reversed to run north to south, a strategy already adopted by Canadian rival Enbridge Inc. (ENB.TO: Quote)
"We're always interested in looking at which...of those existing pipes could be reconfigured to move crude in the other direction," he said.
Now in regulatory hearings, Keystone could be complete by 2009 and carry oil to Cushing and to the refining centers of Wood River and Patoka, Illinois, on a separate branch.
PROFIT SLIPS
Earlier, TransCanada said first quarter net income dropped to C$265 million ($232 million), or 52 Canadian cents a share, from C$273 million, or 56 Canadian cents, in the year-ago quarter which featured C$18 million, or 6 Canadian cents a share, in profit from discontinued operations.
Comparable earnings, the company's term for profit stripped of one-time gains and charges, rose 10 percent to C$250 million, or 49 Canadian cents a share, from C$227 million, or 46 cents, a year earlier.
That was slightly below analyst forecasts, on average, for profit of 52 Canadian cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
TransCanada shares closed down 35 Canadian cents at C$39.64 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Friday.
The quarter was marked by a big expansion of the company's pipeline operations as it closed the US$3.4 billion acquisition of El Paso Corp.'s (EP.N: Quote) ANR pipeline system in February.
The purchase boosted TransCanada's pipeline network by 40 percent with ANR's 17,000 kilometer (10,500 miles) network of natural gas lines and another 230 billion cubic feet of gas-storage facilities.
The pipeline division's contribution to profit fell C$2 million from a year ago to C$155 million, as the ANR earnings helped offset a profit drop for the company's Canadian lines.
"The first quarter is typically the best for ANR because of its gas storage assets," said Steven Paget, an analyst at FirstEnergy Capital.
TransCanada's electricity generation business, which includes a stake in Ontario's Bruce nuclear power plant and conventional generating stations in the U.S. and Canada, earned C$106 million in the quarter, a 6 percent increase. Total revenue rose 19 percent to C$2.25 billion from C$1.89 billion.
