Gas pipeline’s cost soars to $10.9bn: TC Energy

Bloomberg

The price tag for
TC Energy Corp.’s Coastal GasLink project has jumped to C$14.5 billion ($10.9 billion), as labour shortages and contractor disputes continue to plague a pipeline that will supply Canada’s first major liquefied natural gas export plant.
The cost could rise another C$1.2 billion if there are more delays that extend
construction into 2024, the Canadian pipeline operator said on Wednesday in a statement. Right now, the project is 83% complete and the company expects to reach “mechanical completion” later this year.
The new estimate is more than double the original projected cost when the project was conceived. Calgary-based TC Energy warned of a major cost increase in November, but did not give a number at the time.
“We are disappointed with the increase in the Coastal GasLink Project costs,” Chief Executive Officer Francois Poirier said in the statement. “We continue to be laser-focused on safely completing this critical piece of energy infrastructure at the lowest possible cost.”
The pipeline, which will feed the Shell Plc-led LNG Canada plant on the British Columbia coast, has been delayed by a series of challenges including Covid-19, skilled worker shortages and protests by environmentalists. TC Energy will take a impairment charge on its Coastal GasLink investment when it reports fourth-quarter results.