Houston pipeline operator Kinder Morgan is ending the year with two accomplishments — closing a $2.5 billion sale that will allow the company to exit the Canadian market and sending out the first cargo shipment from its Elba Island LNG export terminal in Georgia.
Kinder Morgan closed its sale of Kinder Morgan Canada and Cochin Pipeline to Canadian pipeline operator Pembina Corp.
Pembina is paying Kinder Morgan more than $1.5 billion in cash for the Alberta-to-Michigan crude oil pipeline and stock currently valued at $935 million to buy Kinder Morgan Canada. The proceeds of the sale will allow Kinder Morgan to pay down debt and give it the flexibility to buy back shares or invest in new projects.
Now that the sale has closed, Kinder Morgan controls just under 5 percent of Pembina’s stock. The Houston pipeline operator plans to sell those shares for cash, but has pledged to do so in an “opportunistic and non-disruptive manner.”
On HoustonChronicle.com: Kinder Morgan sets $2.4 billion budget for 2020
In another business milestone, a Greek-flagged LNG tanker named Maran Gas Lindos left Kinder Morgan’s Elba Island LNG plant in Savannah, Georgia on Friday evening with the facility’s first export shipment.
Both Kinder Morgan and its partner in the project, the European oil major Royal Dutch Shell, are remaining tight-lipped about the destination of the LNG tanker. The ship remains parked in the Atlantic Ocean where the crew is awaiting orders for their destination, marine records show.
Most U.S. LNG export terminals have long-term contracts with pre-determined overseas buyers but it is a common practice for test cargoes and shipments being sold on the global spot market to wait in open waters until a buyer is found.
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Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Houston, Kinder Morgan has nearly 11,000 employees across the United States and Mexico.
The company reported a $1.48 billion profit on $14 billion of revenue in 2018.
@SergioChapa on Twitter
