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PetroChina Canada Ltd. has run into obstacles because it seeks to take full possession of an Alberta pipeline system.
The Canadian arm of the Chinese language state-owned vitality large has a half-interest within the Grand Rapids Pipeline, with Calgary-based South Bow Corp. holding the remaining.
Grand Rapids runs 460 kilometres between the oilsands area in northeastern Alberta and the Edmonton space.
PetroChina was in search of to amass South Bow’s curiosity beneath an choice contained of their settlement that features a 30-day time restrict, mentioned an Alberta Court docket of King’s Bench written choice posted on-line final week.
“The proverbial fly-in-the-ointment is the requirement of two governmental authorizations,” wrote Justice Douglas Mah, who rendered his oral choice in December.
The Calgary Courts Centre pictured in Calgary, Monday, Could 6, 2024.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
“First, due to the dimensions and nature of the transaction, dispensation is required beneath the Competitors Act,” wrote Mah.
“Second, as a result of PetroChina is a Chinese language state-owned enterprise, its acquisition of South Bow’s curiosity within the pipeline should endure a internet profit evaluate beneath the Funding Canada Act. Each of those authorizations take time to get,” Mah added.
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PetroChina served South Bow formal discover to train the buyout choice on Nov. 21 and tendered a draft buy and sale settlement.
It additionally requested that the timeline be prolonged from 30 days to the precise date of getting the federal government authorizations or that the closing be made conditional upon the approvals being in place.
Three days later, South Bow responded by saying it might not change its settlement with PetroChina and that its associate’s discover to train its choice was “non-compliant as a result of authorizations had not been obtained,” Mah wrote.
That might have put the expiration date for exercising the choice at Dec. 24.
As it might have been not possible to have approvals in-hand by Christmas Eve, PetroChina turned to a dispute decision course of beneath its settlement with South Bow.
PetroChina requested Mah for an injunction to maintain the choice interval from expiring whereas the 2 firms try to resolve the dispute by way of arbitration, “which can possible be some months down the street,” the decide wrote.
Mah denied PetroChina’s software, saying he’s not satisfied the corporate would have suffered “irreparable hurt” absent an injunction.
“PetroChina says that its irreparable hurt is lack of the choice, however that may be restored by the tribunal and that’s precisely what PetroChina is asking for within the arbitration,” Mah wrote.
“In my opinion, hurt can’t be irreparable if the applicant might be put within the actual place it desires to be by the decision-maker making the ultimate choice. South Bow opposes that end result however concedes that the arbitration tribunal has jurisdiction to make that call.”
PetroChina reached its deal to construct Grand Rapids in 2012 with TransCanada Corp., now referred to as TC Vitality Corp. (TC spun off its oil pipeline enterprise into South Bow in late 2024) and it’s been in operation since 2017.
The development price ticket on the time was $3 billion. The latest courtroom choice didn’t embrace an up to date valuation.
Neither South Bow nor PetroChina Canada instantly responded to a request for remark.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
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