TRP starts up Keystone

Article Excerpt

TRANSCANADA CORP. $36.81 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 689.9 million; Market cap: $25.4 billion; SI Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.4%) has started pumping oil from Alberta’s oil sands to refineries in Illinois through the first phase of its new Keystone pipeline. The second phase of Keystone will extend to Oklahoma, and should be ready in 2011. The company has already signed contracts with shippers for 83% of Keystone’s capacity. These deals have an average term of 18 years. That cuts the risk of this investment. However, long-term demand for Canadian oil should continue to rise, particularly if the U.S. curtails production in the Gulf of Mexico in response to the BP oil spill. TransCanada is a buy. buy…