Canada’s TC Energy Sees Higher Q2 Profit
Canadian energy infrastructure giant TC Energy said July 30 its net income in the second quarter this year rose to C$1.3bn (US$967mn) from C$1.1bn in Q2 2019, although comparable earnings (Ebitda) slipped to C$863mn from C$924mn.
The net income boost was attributed to an after-tax gain of C$408mn on the sale of a 65% interest in the Coastal GasLink pipeline, partly offset by an after-tax loss of C$80mn on the April sale of natural gas power plants in Ontario.
“Despite the challenges brought about by Covid-19, TC Energy’s assets have been largely unimpacted,” the company said. “With few exceptions, flows and utilisation levels remain in line with historical and seasonal norms, underscoring their criticality to North American consumers, institutions and commerce.”
The company placed about C$3bn of assets into service in the first half this year – C$2.9bn on its Nova Gas Transmission Limited system in western Canada and C$100mn on its Canadian Mainline system.
In a separate announcement, TC Energy said it would proceed with its US$400mn Elwood Power/ANR Horsepower Replacement project to upgrade and modernise a heavily-used portion of its ANR Pipeline Co gas transmission system in the US Midwest and provide 125mn ft3/day of firm transportation service to an existing power plant. The new facilities – compression and ancillary upgrades as well as other modifications – are expected to be in-service in the second half of 2022.
ANR is a 10bn ft3/day interstate gas transmission network that delivers natural gas from Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana to residential, commercial and industrial markets in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Ohio and to TC Energy’s extensive natural gas storage operations in Michigan.