Dropping the gloves over pipelines
Earlier this month, pipeline company Kinder Morgan announced it will suspend all “non-essential” activities and “related spending” on the federally-approved Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. In unusually clear language, Kinder Morgan explained that it can’t invest more money into a project that it can’t ensure will see completion.
Kinder Morgan chief executive officer Steven Kean said that “a company cannot litigate its way to an in-service pipeline amidst jurisdictional differences between governments” and that Kinder Morgan can’t expose shareholders to “extraordinary political risks that are completely outside of our control and that could prevent completion of the project.”
The company said that to proceed, it must reach agreement by May 31 with the various stakeholders: the British Columbia government, First Nations, municipalities, etc. Without such an agreement, Kean said it’s difficult to conceive of moving ahead with the project.
The sound of gloves hitting the ice came swiftly after the Kinder Morgan announcement.