Friday September 21, 2:01 pm Eastern Time
Canada energy minister unconcerned by Westcoast deal
OTTAWA, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Canada's energy minister said on Friday he was not concerned that one of the country's main natural gas pipeline systems was coming under U.S. ownership through Duke Energy's (NYSE:DUK - news) takeover of Westcoast Energy (Toronto:W.TO - news) because it would still be under Canadian regulation.
``With respect to issues like infrastructure the precise corporate ownership is not the essential issue,'' Natural Resources Minister Ralph Goodale told reporters.
``The infrastructure is located in Canada, it is subject to Canadian regulation and the regulatory authorities treat the applicants for any particular infrastructure project in exactly the same way and apply exactly the same criteria.''
U.S.-based companies have been busy acquiring Canadian oil and gas producing assets through numerous deals, especially in the past year. But Duke's acquisition of Westcoast is the first major U.S. acquisition of Canadian energy infrastructure.
Vancouver-based Westcoast runs the main gas trunk line in British Columbia, one of North America's fastest growing producing regions. The pipeline, which ships the gas to the B.C. lower mainland region and into the U.S. Pacific Northwest from northeast B.C., is regulated by Canada's National Energy Board.
``Obviously one of their regulatory principles is the protection of Canadian national interests,'' Goodale said.
Duke, the third-largest U.S. electric utility and a major player in the North American gas industry, announced the friendly takeover of Westcoast on Thursday. It is valued at $8.5 billion with the assumption of Westcoast's debt.
The transaction will leave TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. (Toronto:TRP.TO - news), Enbridge Inc. (Toronto:ENB.TO - news) and BC Gas Inc. (Toronto:BCG.TO - news) as the remaining major Canadian-based oil and gas pipeline owners.
A spokesman with Goodale's office said no approval for the deal was needed from the Natural Resources Department.
``The energy business is very much a global business and the capital flows are worldwide,'' Goodale said.
``If we were to attempt to build walls around Canada in that regard what you would find quite frankly is a flight of capital that would mean the dramatic underdevelopment and downturn of our energy sector in Canada. |
