Coastal GasLink, a Canadian natural gas pipeline partnership operated by TC Energy, is seeking C$1.2 billion ($737 million) from one of its main contractors for construction delays and may be liable for a similar amount if an arbitrator rules against it, court documents showed ahead of a hearing this month.

Construction of C$14.5 billion Coastal GasLink (CGL), which TC began planning in 2012, finished in October at more than double its original budget. Private equity firm KKR & Co and Alberta pension manager AIMco jointly own 65% of the limited partnership and TC owns the remaining 35%.

The dispute over the project that will supply Canada’s first liquefied natural gas export facility around 2025 highlights the extreme difficulties operators face in building Canadian pipelines. The Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which aims to boost oil exports, has also faced delays and soaring costs.

The 670-km (416-mile) CGL through British Columbia’s Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast was delayed by mudslides, a six-month pandemic work stoppage, sometimes violent protests and steep terrain that forced TC to use ski lifts to transport pipe.

CGL also terminated contractor Pacific Atlantic Pipeline Construction’s (PAPC) contract last year alleging poor performance and is claiming C$1.2-billion for the cost of finding new contractors, Blaine Trout, TC’s vice-president in charge of CGL, said in court on Nov. 17.

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