In addition to the years of protests and regulatory obstacles that the Keystone XL Pipeline project spearheaded by TransCanada Corp. (NYSE: TP) has faced, it now must battle another hurdle: a dearth of customers.
The news comes in just months after President Trump finally gave the project the okay in March this year after decades of lobbying and construction for the pipeline, which has resulted in a total cost of approximately $8 billion, overshooting the budgeted value of $7 billion that was initially slated for the project.
Ironically, Trump's rather positive outlook with regards to the project, "It's going to be an incredible pipeline, greatest technology known to man," (a reversal of Obama's move to halt construction), is not matched by investors.
TransCanada's main clients include oil producing giants ExxonMobil (NYSE: XON) and Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU) but these players are wary of supporting the 1700-mile pipeline because of the significant controversy surrounding it.
Essentially, many stakeholders primarily including environmentalists, farmers and land owners alone the path of the pipeline are of the belief that its existence will make it more difficult for the U.S. to divert its focus away from fossil fuels, and will instead augment production in Canada's oil sands. Moreover, extracting bitumen (a form of low quality petroleum) from the mapped out area is more similar to mining as opposed to standard oil drilling, meaning that the process of obtaining bitumen from oil sands emits about 15% more greenhouse gas emissions than the production of the average barrel of crude oil used in the U.S which would inevitably contribute more intensely to global warming.
Another factor is the fact that the pipeline spans multiple states and not just one, and therefore people who reside along its path are worried that oil spills from the pipeline could potentially damage the environment or be a hazard. Although TransCanada claims Keystone XL is efficient and technologically adept-the current Keystone pipeline has "16,000 data points that are refreshed every five seconds," there have been multiple reports of loopholes such as a farmer in Nebraska alleging that he discovered a leak in the pipeline last year: "TransCanada's fancy detection system failed," he said. "Keystone 1 was shut down until July 2, 2016."
There was also an oil spill last year at the Exxon pipeline in Mayflower, Arkansas. This has left many residents even more concerned, pushing away companies worried about their public image and corporate responsibility.
When Keystone XL was first unveiled in 2008, oil cost more than $130 a barrel. Prices have plummeted since then due to the increase in American oil producers and subsequent inventory, rendering prices at about $45. This has incentivized some companies to partner with rail companies which don't typically require lengthy contracts to transport their oil instead.
All things considered, keeping in mind TransCanada's goal to fill out 90% of Keystone's capacity target because it commences operation, it only makes sense that it began to fervently curry favor with potential customers earlier this year. This would not be in vain, as the company has said construction could begin next year and finish as early as 2020 and that progress is being made with prospective clients.