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Trump can confiscate oil pipelines coming from Canada [1]

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Date: 2025-07-01

Trump issued 4 presidential memoranda yesterday affecting the oil industry. Three are for pipelines that cross the Canadian border. At first, I thought this was permitting to allow new pipelines. Instead, it looks like a way to control oil coming from Canada or seize and nationalize the pipelines. The memoranda are complex legalese. The last one tells the National Energy Dominance Council to run roughshod over anything getting in the way of fossil fuel production.

Three are permits for 3 oil pipeline companies to operate pipelines at the Canadian border to handle naphtha, liquified natural gas, natural gas liquids, jet fuel, gasoline, kerosene and diesel, but not limited to them. But two of the permits aren't to build them, it's to put them under government control. I'll get to that later. First a primer on the companies involved.

The titles of the memoranda are very long. I'm going to abbreviate it to the companies involved. Junction Pipeline, LLC to be built at Toole County, Montana. Steel Reef US Pipeline, LLC at Burke County, North Dakota and South Bow (USA) LP at Cavalier County, North Dakota.

If you recognize the company South Bow, it's from the days of the attempt to create the Keystone XL pipeline that was going to go through several States including North Dakota. The location for this pipeline permit is in a different location, a different County, already built. On his first day in office, President Joe Biden revoked a key permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. Earlier this year Trump decided to see if he could get the Keystone XL pipeline restarted, but South Bow wasn't interested.

South Bow was spun off from TC Energy, a Canadian company, and so is South Bow.

Junction Pipeline LLC is at 115 Oak Park Dr., Boerne, Texas. This is the building at that address:

Junction Pipeline headquarters.

Also at this same address are Falcon Automation LLC, and LP Operating LLC. Not possible? You're right. If the picture wasn't so fuzzy in the transfer, you could see the sign says LP Operating LLC and also above the front door. The memorandum does say that the Junction Pipeline company is located in Texas. There's only one company by this name anywhere in the United States.

Steel Reef US Pipelines LLC does not exist, other than as a subsidiary of another company. There is a Canadian company called Steel Reef. They concentrate on flare gas capture. You've seen the fire a the top of small pipes at refineries. That's flare gas being burned. It also happens at other stages of oil and gas production. The memorandum for Steel Reef US Pipelines quotes a 8.625 inch pipeline. That can only be for natural gas.

Steel Reef in their flare gas capture system say they've got ~2700 kilometers of pipes. It's not a small company. And it does operate in North Dakota.

From the Steel Reef website.

But this is Steel Reef. Where and who is Steel Reef US Pipelines? No website, no office.

So we've got a totally real South Bow. A Steel Reef US Pipelines that is probably a subsidiary of Steel Reef. Lastly is Junction Pipeline that looks like a one bedroom home that contains three companies.

The South Bow memoranda covers an already existing 30 inch pipeline and facilities on the US side of the border. The company cannot make any changes to operations including current oil flow without government permission. The government can inspect the facilities at any time. If the president revokes the permit, the government can force the company to remove said facilities. If they don't, or at the governments discretion, the government can take possession of the pipeline. This is in Article 3 of the order. Removal of the facilities is at the expense of South Bow. But the government can also take over the facilities, make the money for the oil being allowed going through the pipeline, and pay South Bow a reasonable profit.

The way I read it, the US government can now nationalize an oil pipeline. It can continue the operation of the pipeline or shut it down at will, and even remove the pipeline. It seems to be an attack on the Canadian oil industry. A threat to Canada.

Steel Reef US Pipeline must exist somewhere because its memoranda cites an already existing 8.625-inch pipeline. The rest of the memoranda is exactly the same as the one on South Bow. Government control over pipeline operations and facilities with the right to nationalize them and pay Steel Reef what would have been a reasonable operating profit and the threat of removal at Steel Reef's expense.

The Junction Pipeline memoranda is different in that it includes the language to "construct" a 30-inch pipeline. The rest of the memoranda is a duplicate of the others. How is this all going to be built by a company in a one bedroom house? This story will have to be continued later.

The current situation is that there is a 10% tariff on the oil coming from Canada. Yesterday, Canada removed its digital tax on US companies because of Trump threatening new tariffs on Canada. So, now it's back to the negotiating table. That negotiating table just had some new cards thrown on the table. Trump can stop the oil and natural gas flow from two Canadian companies, control it, or take it over.

Currently, the South Bow pipeline, called just Keystone, is handling 591,000 barrels of oil a day, out of a maximum capacity of 860,000 barrels per day.

The Steel Reef pipeline must be carrying natural gas, but actual information on this pipeline cannot be found, as with Steel Reef US Pipelines LLC.

The U.S. currently uses 20.25 million barrels of oil a day. There are 31 oil pipelines and 39 natural gas pipelines crossing the U.S. and Canada border. There are 10 to 15 additional pipelines at various stages of built, but not operating, decommissioned or deactivated.

There are more oil and natural gas pipelines that are owned by Canadian companies. More that Trump could seize their facilities on this side of the border. There is no other reason for these memoranda permits on already existing pipelines other than control and the threat of nationalizing the US portion.

The permit for the pipeline to be built by non-existent Junction Pipeline has the same control and seizure language as the others. Why would a company spend the money on building a 30 inch pipeline at a cost of billions of dollars, only to have the U.S. government completely control operations and be able to seize it? And where does a non-existent company get the billions of dollars? Like I said, a story for another time.

Is the language in these three memoranda legal? Trump did declare a national energy emergency as soon as he took office. Trump can claim that this is about national security.

In 1952, President Truman, during the Korean War, seized steel mills that were going to be shut down by a nationwide strike. He called it a national emergency to seize the mills and keep the workers working. Eventually, lawsuits determined that the president could not do so without an act of Congress. There is precedent, but it would be against Trump. But as we have seen, that means nothing to Trump.

This will take time for investigative reporters to get around to this story. Everything is focused on the Big Ugly Bill Betrayal.

Trump will play these cards against Canada, if and when he needs to. There are more oil and gas pipelines he can seize. This is a developing story and breaking news.

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