Norton Rose Fulbright advises Royal Bank of Canada on C$1bn financing of Northern Courier Pipeline Limited Partnership

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright advised Royal Bank of Canada on the issuance by Northern Courier Pipeline Limited Partnership of C$1bn of 3.365% first lien senior secured notes.

Proceeds of the offering of senior notes were paid by Northern Courier Pipeline Limited Partnership to TC Energy Corporation in connection with the indirect sale by TC Energy Corporation of 85% of its ownership of Northern Courier Pipeline Limited Partnership to Alberta Investment Management Corporation. TC Energy Corporation retained a 15% stake and continues to operate the pipeline.

Norton Rose Fulbright senior partner Richard Borden commented:

“The financing is very significant for Royal Bank of Canada and its project finance team and shows investor optimism in both pipelines and the broader oil and gas industry in Alberta.”

The Northern Courier Pipeline System is a 90-kilometre insulated bitumen pipeline in Alberta. It connects Fort Hills Mine and Bitumen Extraction Facility in Wood Buffalo to Suncor Energy’s East Tank Farm, a bitumen and diluent storage, blending and cooling facility north of Fort McMurray. The system’s 2195-metre stretch of pipeline located 70 metres under the protected Athabasca Riverbed was named 2016 Project of the Year by the North American Society for Trenchless Technology, recognizing the minimal disturbance the pipeline caused to the sensitive area. Northern Courier Pipeline Limited Partnership owns a parallel pipeline delivering diluent and diesel from East Tank Farm to Fort Hills, as well as associated bitumen and diluent storage facilities and ancillary facilities.

The team included Rick Borden, Jennifer Kennedy, Matthew Longstaff, Kirsty Sklar, Darren Hueppelsheuser, Peter Wiazowski, Kassy Corothers, Christine Dowling, Elisabeth Trotter, Joe Mooney, Mitchell Ng, John Ebbels and Amy Yang.