CALGARY, Alberta--Pipeline company TransCanada Corp. said on May 3 it has changed its name to TC Energy, to reflect the expansion of its business beyond Canada to the United States and Mexico.

Calgary-based TC Energy has been struggling to make progress in building new oil export pipelines out of western Canada.

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The company has been working for more than a decade to build the controversy-ridden 830,000 barrel per day (bpd) Keystone XL pipeline, which would boost export capacity from the oil-rich province of Alberta to U.S. refineries.

In 2017, TC Energy scrapped plans for the C$12 billion (US$8.9 billion) cross-country Energy East project from Alberta to Canada's Atlantic Coast because of mounting regulatory hurdles.

"TC Energy better describes our complete business, which ... has grown steadily to become a C$110 billion enterprise with critical assets and dedicated employees across three countries," Chief Executive Russ Girling said at the company's annual general meeting.

Girling said there were no plans to move the company's headquarters out of Calgary.

TC Energy still has extensive operations in Canada, including the Keystone pipeline, which transports 20% of western Canadian crude exports to U.S. refineries, and natural gas pipelines, which are part of one of the largest gas transmission systems in North America.

Keystone XL faces hurdles in the United States, including a pending Nebraska Supreme Court decision related to the pipeline's route and a lawsuit by two Native American communities in Montana.

As those matters have dragged on, TC Energy has now "lost the 2019 construction season" for work on Keystone XL's U.S. portion, said executive vice-president Paul Miller. TC has not made a final investment decision to proceed with the project.

"We will not make any major capital commitments until we have a clear path to construction," Miller said.

TC's shares ended down 1.2% in Toronto at C$62.63.

The company reported a first quarter profit on Friday, beating analysts' estimates as it earned more by phasing into service the Columbia Gas pipeline and one of its Columbia Gulf growth projects in the United States, as well as moving more volumes on Keystone.

TC Energy said earnings from its U.S. natural gas pipelines rose 22% to C$792 million.

Comparable earnings rose to C$987 million, or C$1.07 per share, from C$864 million, or 98 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose to C$3.49 billion from C$3.42 billion.

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