Thursday, April 05, 2007

 

BC Rail's new 40-year Lease Agreement with Kinder Morgan to operate Vancouver Wharves bulk marine terminal in North Vancouver

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Attention Business Editors:

Kinder Morgan to operate Vancouver Wharves bulk marine terminal Long-term lease agreement with British Columbia Railway Company will revitalize port facility

NORTH VANCOUVER, BC, April 3 /CNW/ - The British Columbia Railway Company (BCRC) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Kinder Morgan Canada Terminals ULC (KMCT) regarding a long-term lease to operate Vancouver Wharves, its bulk marine terminal in North Vancouver and the purchase the terminal assets, which include on site rail infrastructure, dry bulk and liquid storage, and material handling systems.

The 40-year lease agreement will see Kinder Morgan make much needed capital investments to revitalize Vancouver Wharves while retaining ownership of the underlying real estate on which the facility operates.

"This agreement will bring new investment and opportunities to Vancouver Wharves and its customers and will secure its future as an integral port facility for British Columbia", said Kevin Mahoney, BCRC President and CEO. "After a rigorous selection process that included input from many of our customers, employees and other key stakeholders, BCRC has chosen to enter into a long term lease agreement with Kinder Morgan that will bring real benefits to our customers, our employees, our community and our province."

The comprehensive agreement with KMCT covers a number of matters including: a commitment for KMCT to maintain existing contracts with customers, a full transfer of employment for all current employees, and future access to the facility by the mining and sulphur industries that rely on Vancouver Wharves to help transport their products to market.

This agreement will also enable Kinder Morgan to bring its environmental expertise to Vancouver Wharves. "Kinder Morgan's broad experience in environmental management of port facilities and commitment to environmental stewardship were key factors in this agreement", said Mahoney. Mahoney also pointed to the commitments made by Kinder Morgan to establish a strong relationship with the Squamish First Nation.

The agreement announced today is the result of a call for proposals issued by BCRC last May, which led to considerable interest from a number of potential operators. The selection process involved many months of due diligence and negotiation by both parties, through which the company benefited from the professional support and analysis of its legal advisor, Borden Ladner Gervais and its financial advisor, CIBC World Markets.

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. is one of the largest publicly traded pipeline limited partnerships in America. KMP owns an interest in or operates approximately 26,000 miles of pipelines and approximately 150 terminals. Its pipelines transport more than two million barrels/day of gasoline and other petroleum products and up to seven billion cubic feet/day of natural gas, and its terminals handle over 90 million tons of coal and other bulk materials annually and have a liquids storage capacity of about 70 million barrels for petroleum products and chemicals. KMP is also the leading provider of CO(2) for enhanced oil recovery projects in North America.

The general partner of KMP is owned by Kinder Morgan, Inc., one of the largest energy transportation, storage and distribution companies in North America. Combined, the two companies have an enterprise value of more than $35 billion.

Vancouver Wharves is located on the north shore of the Burrard Inlet and offers a variety of both in-bound and out-bound services and handles four primary commodity groups: mineral concentrates, pulp, agri-products and sulfur. It is one of two major sulfur export terminals in the Port of Vancouver and is the only facility capable of handling mineral concentrates such as copper, lead and zinc for the Canadian mining industry.

For further information: Michael Kaye, Vice President, Finance & CFO,
British Columbia Railway Company, Phone: (604) 678-4747

http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archive/April2007/03/c9633.html

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News item discovered by Sean Holman. See Public Eye Online.

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Comments:
This story was in the Vancouver Sun. Sorry Sean!
 
And that's not all Mary.

Did you notice this:
A provincial government report prepared by the ministry of energy, mines and petroleum resources states Terasen Inc. owner Kinder Morgan Inc. wants to "discourage electricity" use in British Columbia and "replace (it) with natural gas." But a spokesperson for Terasen says "that would be an inaccuracy" - rejecting suggestions Kinder Morgan wants the government to introduce a pricing system that could see some British Columbians who use electricity to heat their homes pay a higher Hydro rate than those who use other sources, such as natural gas.

The report, which was obtained via a freedom of information request, summarizes a January 31 meeting between Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources Minister Neufeld and Kinder Morgan chairman and chief executive officer Rich Kinder - as well as president Park Shaper and chief operating officer Steven Kean. The meeting occured while Minister Neufeld was attending a convention in Houston, Texas. According to the report, after the executives expressed a desire to replace electricity use with natural gas, "BC noted that electricity is cheap and competes with gas."

Also at Sean Holman's place.

You can be sure, if Neufeld and the BC Liberals start taking policy advice from Rich Kinder that we, the people of BC, are in for a world of hurt. I notice Ross K is up on this aspect of the latest dinner meeting with members of a coporate clique.
 
So? Maybe YOU should've posted the information, eh?

Obviously I missed it and I'm sorry about that.

Apparently I missed B.C. Rail's call for offers last May, too; did you see that one, Anon? And the price paid by Kinder Morgan?
 
Mary,
I couldn't get over the analogy between Gary Collins' meeting with Broe and Johnson at the Vila Del Lupo and Neufeld's little tete a tete at some bun toss in Houston.

I know the horsemen were taping the Collins' meeting but wouldn't it be something if the FBI had bugged Neufeld's meeting as well.

What the Kinder Morgan executives were doing, it seems pretty clear to me, was enticing a government official to use a policy lever to give them a business advantage in what's meant to be an open market and that's frowned on the the US of A.

As a matter of fact, one of the biggest fines ever levied in the US for something not all that different, happened just a few years back to a big agricultural supplier called Archer Daniels Midland. The court case used tapes brought in to just such a meeting - in Hawaii I believe - by an informer with ADM who was wearing a wire.

Funnily enough, Brian Mulroney was eventually involved in establishing the terms of a court settlement in the case. It didn't save Michael
D. Andreas's and Terrance S. Wilson's jobs although I think it avoided any of them being convicted of criminal charges.
GW
 
Today in Vancouver Sun (thanks to DPL for telling me about it), Neal Hall has a start-to-finish summary of the Basi Virk Basi issues. A useful reminder.

What puzzled me greatly is his declaration that the trial begins on April 16. Because my notes say:

2 April - pre-trial hearing delayed (see Robin Mathews: Breaking News from Courtroom 53)

10 April - the 2 April hearing's new date

13 April - filing of Charter Rights application

16 April - begins a 3-week hearing on disclosure items.

But no trial date.

So I've asked Neal Hall for confirmation ... will certainly headline any clarification that comes in.

Many, many thanks to the Astute Anonymice who have been thinking deeply about the issues. I hope we hear more -- much more -- from them.

Meantime, a pleasant Easter Weekend to everyone.
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The trial is not starting on April 16. This is an example of the Vancouver Sun publishing a puff piece with nothing new for the sake of selling a few more newspapers (gotta keep the shareholders happy). Tieleman has shamed them into writing something, anything to make up for their pathetic and troubling disinterest in this case. Neal Hall doesn't even have his dates correct, there have been 6 court dates set and then changed because of delays in handing over documents - November 2005, April 2006, June 2006, September 2006, December 2006 and February 2007.
 
GW on April 5: You've spotted quite a "co-incidence" -- The Collins chat & The Neufeld chat -- I hope you follow up on that. Could it reveal some sort of template they're using to bring in the Golden Era?

Anon on April 6: I think Vancouver Sun does have a very keen interest in the B.C. Rail case (you refer to "their pathetic and troubling disinterest") but the way they've handled the BC Rail trial's press coverage is indeed troubling.

I often wonder, actually, if the grassroots effort -- Robin Mathews showing up in Supreme Court and Bill Tieleman writing about it and all of us here, determined to find out about the issues ... is that what kept B.C.Rail issues alive? And if we slack off, would the whole rotten apple disappear without history ever recording what happened to B.C. Rail, Vancouver Wharves, and soon, Roberts Bank. Just look at the TILMA process -- a done deal long before we begin to hear what it means -- by which time the current administration says "Ha ha. Too late!"

So thanks very much for recounting those 6 optimistic court dates. You have to wonder why Madam Justice Bennett hasn't hammered her gavel and said "That's it ... !"
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I seldom write much on Mary's blog as I prefer to ship stuff direct to her. But let's at least admit the articles in the Ssun today( Yes there are two articles) brings a lot of readers who may well have forgotten or chose to ignore the issues into the stream So a guy gets the wrong date, it's not a hanging offense Let's be happy it shows up at all. By the way the same article was in the Globe today as well. If the case is delayed again, maybe someone else will notice now that some big names are listed as being in the area of action.

I do write and read a lot about failed and succesful treaties and find errors there all the time. It's always nice to know if a error was made, but preferable not to hang the guy who made the error. Write him or her and explain the mistake.dl
 
Good advice, DPL.

I will post parts of Neal Hall's 2nd article from today's Vancouver Sun as the police have taken a bruising over their early decisions in the raid on the legislature. Particularly much scoffing about Organized Crime ... ha ha ... couldn't possibly be involved, etc. This 2nd article shows otherwise.

Thanks to Neal Hall. Better late than never, eh?
 
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Has anyone seen or heard whether actual money changed hands in the BCRail-Kinder Morgan transaction? And if so, how much?

Or was it a quicker, slicker giveaway? For free, like.

And please note: it ain't the cash that distresses British Columbians; no, it's giving away the farm that gets us riled. Our farm.
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Mary you should post the column by Ian Mulgrew on the leg raid.
 
Anonymous 4:52, couldn't find any mention about the leg raid in the Globe today.
 
Hey JW. It was under a CP listing. Exact same story as far as I could see. But the Globe does keep some stories for only a short time, maybe I saw it while still there, and it was gone when you looked. dl
 
"The selection process involved many months of due diligence and negotiation by both parties, through which the company benefited from the professional support and analysis of its legal advisor, Borden Ladner Gervais and its financial advisor, CIBC World Markets."

As the relentless process of (in BC Mary's words) "giving away the farm", "our farm", continues, it's interesting to note the same firms and names appearing over and over again.
 
Hi BC Mary,

I stumbled upon this:

"Houston-based Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP will pay $40 million and take on unspecified liabilities to purchase and operate Vancouver Wharves, a bulk marine terminal located on the North Shore at the entrance to the Port of Vancouver.

In a deal announced Tuesday, the current operator, British Columbia Railway Co. -- a Crown corporation owned by the province -- will maintain ownership over a 45-hectare parcel of land, while Kinder Morgan will operate the terminal, which includes an additional 11 hectares of land leased from the Vancouver Port Authority, under a 40-year lease. Kinder Morgan will also buy all the terminal assets including rail infrastructure, dry bulk and liquid storage, and material handling systems.

While the full value of the deal has not been disclosed, Kinder Morgan will make a lump sum payment of $40 million on closing, expected to occur before the end of June, and will assume certain liabilities, BCRC chief financial officer Michael Kaye said in an interview.


... The company owns more than 150 terminals in the U.S. and plans to expand the North Vancouver bulk terminal.


So the value of the transaction is actually quite significant," Kaye said.

The disposition is part of BCRC's mandate to rid itself of all non-railway properties, a process it started about six years ago and which led to CN Rail leasing the former BC Rail corridor lands and track infrastructure from BCRC in 2004.

The terminal, located on the North Shore of Burrard Inlet and recognized by its piles of yellow sulphur, has five deep-sea berths with wharf frontage of 955 metres and tracks for up to 400 railcars. It is one of two major sulphur export terminals in the Port of Vancouver, and is the primary facility capable of handling mineral concentrates such as copper, lead and zinc for the Canadian mining industry."



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