On Tuesday, we learned that the federal government’s Trans Mountain pipeline would be able to move ahead, at least for now. It’s the latest in a back-and-forth process that’s frustrated the industry and that still does not guarantee anything will actually get built. The decision will likely get appealed, meaning the uncertainty surrounding the Trans Mountain is still here to stay.
This news isn’t likely to bring investors back and I’d be surprised if there’s much bullishness in oil and gas stocks as a result of this. After all, given that the Liberals currently own the pipeline, it would have been a little odd for them to deny it anyway. With all the struggles the industry has had over the past several years, getting pipelines to progress, it’s unlikely that this will be what brings investors back.
TC Pipelines (TSX:TRP)(NYSE:TRP), formerly TransCanada Corporation, had to cancel the Energy East pipeline when it no longer made business sense to move forward giving the increasing environmental demands that were being required of it. Even in the U.S., the Keystone XL has struggled to make progress, the longest saga of them all, and construction still won’t happen this year.
Recently Enbridge Inc (TSX:ENB)(NYSE:ENB) has run into issues with its Line 3 replacement that it thought was approved only to be sent back for more consideration.
This uncertainty has saddled oil and gas companies with many costs along the way and has made it hard for them to do business under such uncertainty. And that’s why many investors have stayed away from the industry altogether. Even though Tuesday’s news was good for the industry, it might be short lived.
