On Wednesday morning Steve Kean, CEO of the energy company Kinder Morgan, jubilantly told a conference call of investors, “We will be paid the $4.5 billion even if a third-party buyer is not found.” It was the conclusion of a long and difficult saga for the Texas oil company formed from the ashes of Enron — one which had finally, and against all odds, arrived at a happy conclusion.

Their proposed Trans Mountain expansion, which would triple the capacity of an existing pipeline running between Canada’s tar sands in Alberta and the coast of British Columbia, looked like it might never be built earlier this year. Court challenges from indigenous groups alleging a lack of consultation, as well as from the local governments of Vancouver, the suburb of Burnaby, and the province of British Columbia were winding their way through the court system, while widespread protests and acts of civil disobedience routinely shut down Kinder Morgan facilities.

These are the public uncertainties that Kinder Morgan claimed led them to issue an ultimatum: clear the path to construction by May 31, or we’ll cancel the project.