Far-left activists claim that resource companies are using the pandemic to expand their resource development plans. An article in Canadian journal claims that an American company, KKR is taking over a majority stake in the Canadian Coastal GasLink project. However, the planned purchase was announced in late 2019, before the pandemic broke and there is no evidence of a link with the purchase and the outbreak of COVID-19.
The article states that “oil and gas CEOs see the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity to push through their resource development plans.” While it’s likely that oil and gas companies have considered how to react to the COVID-19 outbreak, there is no evidence that they have actively taken advantage of the pandemic for their own gain.
No new applications for expansion of pipelines or other oil and gas projects have been submitted to the Canadian Energy Regulator in the pandemic period.
