Private equity firm KKR & Co. Inc. said on Dec. 26 it and Alberta Investment Management Corp. would jointly buy a 65% stake in TC Energy Corp.'s Coastal GasLink Pipeline in Canada.

The pipeline is a key part of the C$40 billion LNG Canada project and will supply natural gas from Dawson Creek in the northeast of British Columbia to the liquefied natural gas facility near Kitimat on the Pacific coast.

After completion, it will have an initial capacity of 2.1 billion cubic feet per day.

The LNG Canada project, being built by Royal Dutch Shell and its partners, is expected to provide some relief to the country's natural gas producers, which are grappling with lower prices because of record production in the United States.

TC Energy will record an after-tax gain of about C$600 million (US $456.24 million) after the deal closes, the company said in a separate statement.

The pipeline company said it would also give a right to buy 10% stake in the pipeline to the "20 First Nations" -- groups of indigenous people that live along the length of the proposed pipeline and have already signed agreements for its development.

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