Environment and Energy
TC Looks to Sell Steel Left from Cancelled Keystone XL
Written by Michael Cowden
February 22, 2021
TC Energy is considering liquidating excess equipment and steel following the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline.
“Our project team … is evaluating what we can do with all of our equipment and its uses,” Bevin Wirzba, president of liquid pipelines for the Calgary, Alberta-based energy company, said during an earnings conference call earlier this month.
“The value of steel in some cases has increased. And certainly there is a market for some of our spare materials,” Wirzba said. “Our team is looking at the best strategy to wind down and working closely with our partners to do so, and we’ll provide further updates once those plans are in place.”
President Joe Biden on his first day in office revoked the permit for the $8 billion pipeline project, which was designed to bring crude from Canada’s oil sands to refineries in the Gulf of Mexico.
In a press conference prior to Biden’s executive order, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney was quoted as saying: “If the project ends, there would be assets that could be sold, such as enormous quantities of pipe. That would offset construction costs.”
It’s therefore possible that the secondary market for large-diameter line pipe could see significantly higher supplies.
SMU does not price line pipe or the secondary market. But prices for steel products tend to trend together over time. And SMU’s average hot-rolled coil price stands at an all-time high of $1,200 per ton ($60/cwt), up 11% from $1,080 a month ago and up 173% from a 2020 low, recorded in August, of $440 per ton.
TC Energy was known as TransCanada until it changed its name in May 2019.
By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Michael Cowden
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