Kinder Morgan Treads Minefield in Post-vote British Columbia

Reuters

CALGARY, Alberta/TORONTO, May 17 (Reuters) - British Columbia could become a minefield for Kinder Morgan Inc, with the recent provincial election results expected to weigh on the U.S. company's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and plans for a Canadian initial public offering.

The Canadian province's pro-energy Liberals Party won the election but lost its majority, forcing it to woo the environmentalist Green Party to govern, potentially making concessions. In the worst scenario for the Liberals, the Greens could form their own majority government with the second-place New Democrats, who also oppose Trans Mountain.

While final electoral results can change with the compiling of absentee votes and recounts, to be done by May 24, a provincial government unfriendly to development could mean major obstacles to Trans Mountain, even if it has federal approval on its side.

The election is expected to cast a shadow on Kinder Morgan's proposed $1.3 billion IPO for its Canadian unit, set to be the nation's fourth-biggest, filed one day after the election.

"The really close B.C. election vote puts pressure on the Kinder Morgan IPO," said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at CMC Markets. "You run the danger of the whole thing getting stalled for years or going into limbo."

The Trans Mountain project said in a statement on Tuesday that the expansion continues to advance. Kinder Morgan has said in IPO filings that changes in government could disrupt or delay projects such as Trans Mountain, causing "significant" increased costs.

"While the provincial government cannot undo the federal authorization to construct and operate the Trans Mountain pipeline, they could create some potential issues at a local and provincial level," said Alan Ross, managing partner of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP's Calgary office.

"To the extent not done so already, any Kinder Morgan Canada IPO would need to price in political risk related to the B.C. election," he said.

Based on IPO documents, Kinder Morgan Canada's dividend yield would work out to 3.1-3.4 percent. That compares with 3.8 percent at Hydro One, which filed Canada's third biggest IPO in 2015.

Given political risks, Kinder Morgan may have to offer a more attractive dividend yield, said Ian Nakamoto, equity specialist at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier, a division of Raymond James.

Even if recounts grant Liberals a majority, it would be slim, making it hard for them to unilaterally get their way as before. Liberal leader and incumbent Premier Christy Clark said she will collaborate with rivals and work across party lines.

The Greens did not respond to requests for comment, although leader Andrew Weaver said in a commentary in the Globe and Mail newspaper on Wednesday that reconsidering Trans Mountain would be a "triumph of democracy." The New Democratic Party (NDP) reiterated a commitment to use "every tool" to stop the project.

Neither party has specified in detail how to oppose Trans Mountain. Any pushback would have to overcome the federal approval already granted, which constitutionally trumps provincial opposition.

The province could delay Trans Mountain and wear down the will of Kinder Morgan's investors, said University of British Columbia law professor Jocelyn Stacey.


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