About

TransCanada PipeLines is one of the largest natural gas and other energy pipeline companies in North America, operating 91,900km of pipeline from Alberta to the US Gulf Coast, and supplying 25% of the continent’s daily natural gas. It also has a whole range of oil and liquefied energy product pipelines as well as generation plants across the continent. Its full-service legal team provides support to all company business units and corporate functions in Canada, the US and Mexico, including project approvals, joint ventures and commercial arrangements, M&A, regulatory applications, compliance and litigation. General counsel Kristine Delkus, leads the team of 135 lawyers and is also an executive vice president of the company and chief compliance officer. She is supported by three vice presidents coordinating different divisions: Christine Johnston, law and corporate secretary, Catharine Davis, natural gas law and David Kohlenberg, liquids and energy law. Each of the vice presidents is in turn supported by a number of directors. In 2018 the Canada gas legal group completed open season processes and contractual underpinning and progressed regulatory applications for matters that will ensure the growth and long term viability of the Canada gas business. That included the 2021 and 2022 expansion projects announced by NGTL and the North Bay Junction Long Term Fixed Price service and associated expansion on the Canadian Mainline. The NMML Variance application approved commencement of construction for the North Montney MainLine Project, which is currently underway. The NMML application had been a four year process, and it represents the first major connection for NGTL into the North Montney play and a major anchor in future business opportunities for the company. Over the course of the past year the energy law group has closed or entered into sales agreements totalling in excess of US$1bn for the disposition of a varied portfolio of power generation assets including hydro-electric, gas-fired, wind and solar facilities. The legal group also completed work involving the restructuring of the Bruce Power partnerships in connection with Bruce Power’s commitment to the Ontario Government to refurbish six nuclear power generating units. The liquids pipeline law group completed projects over the past year contributing to the commencement of service on two crude oil pipelines in Alberta, and continues to support the advancement of the Keystone XL project in Canada and the US. Following TransCanada’s 2016 acquisition of Columbia pipelines, a group of US hedge funds brought an action seeking appraisal of Columbia’s shares by the Delaware Chancery Court. Throughout 2017 and 2018, TransCanada expended significant time and expense to defend the claim, ultimately culminating in a trial at the end of October 2018. In 2016, the securities and banking work undertaken by the team included a record-setting C$4.4bn subscription receipt offering and US$6.9bn bridge facilities to fund TransCanada’s US$10.3bn acquisition of Columbia Pipeline Group. In 2017, TransCanada Corporation launched an At-the-Market equity issuance program, the first of its kind for a senior Canadian issuer. Delkus identifies that, ‘the law department’s vision is to fuel accomplishments of TransCanada’s strategy through solutions-oriented legal services and a business mind-set… a legal team that looks for creative solutions with an appropriate balancing of risk’.