TransCanada (TRP) Leach Xpress Pipeline Becomes Operational

TransCanada Corporation (TO:TRP) recently announced that its natural gas pipeline system Leach XPress was placed in-service on Jan 1, 2018. The pipeline is 160 miles long and has the capacity to transport 1.5 billion cubic feet/day (Bcf/d) of gas.

Notably, the $1.6 billion pipeline — which will supply gas to Southeast and Gulf Coast supply markets — had received approval from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) on Jan 9, 2017.

Additionally, FERC recently approved TransCanada’s two more gas pipelines namely — Mountaineer Xpress and Gulf Xpress — having a combined value of $3.2 billion. These pipelines will deliver Marcellus and Utica shale gas to key markets in the United States. With this, TransCanada has been granted necessary approvals for all the major Appalachian growth projects associated with the acquisition of Columbia Pipeline Group.

The 170-mile Mountaineer Xpress has the transportation capacity of 2.6 Bcf/d, whereas the relatively smaller Gulf Xpress has a transportation capacity of 0.8 Bcf/d. During peak construction, both the pipelines will create more than 8,000 jobs.

Headquartered in Alberta, TransCanada mainly focuses on natural gas transmission and power services. Its pipeline transports the majority of Western Canada's natural gas to growing markets in Canada and the United States. TransCanada reaffirmed the forecasts of its profits and earnings growth on the Investor Day observed on Nov 28.

The company expects EBITDA to grow at an average annual rate of about 10% between 2015 and 2020. Further, the Calgary-based company has raised the upper end of its dividend forecast from 8% to 10%, and extended that outlook through 2021.

TransCanada currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

A few better-ranked players in the energy space are Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NYSE:NOG) , Bonanza Creek Energy, Inc. (NYSE:BCEI) and Lonestar Resources US Inc. (NASDAQ:LONE) . All the three companies sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Northern Oil and Gas delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 175% in the trailing four quarters.

Bonanza Creek delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 188.7% in the trailing four quarters

Lonestar delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 8.16% in the trailing four quarters.

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