US pipeline company Kinder Morgan has decided to go ahead with the C$7.4bn (US$5.5bn) Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion project in Canada, pending satisfactory financing for the project. In April 2017, the company launched the process for an initial public offering (IPO) of restricted voting shares, offering 102.9 million shares valued C$1.75bn (US$1.3bn). The public offering will close on 31 May 2017.
The controversial Trans Mountain expansion project, approved by the Canadian government in November 2016 despite the opposition of environmental groups and residents, will stretch from Edmonton, Alberta, to Burnaby, British Columbia. It aims at increasing the crude oil transportation capacity from approximately 300,000 bbl/d to 890,000 bbl/d by twinning the existing light crude oil and refined product pipeline. Kinder Morgan expects to begin construction in September 2017, with a completion scheduled for December 2019.