TransCanada has asked the U.S.to delay reviewing the Keystone XL pipeline, which probably would defer any decision on the controversial project until after the 2016 election. Because the pipeline would cross an worldwide border, the State Department must review it. President Obama had said that he would make the final decision.
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“We are asking (the) State (Department) to pause its review of Keystone XL based on the fact that we have applied to the Nebraska Public Service Commission for approval of its preferred route in the state”, Russ Girling, TransCanada’s president and CEO, said in a news release.
TransCanada Corp.is asking the State Department to halt its review of Keystone XL indefinitely while a state permitting process plays out in Nebraska. Though the state’s previous governor, Dave Heineman, had approved a route for the pipeline, his decision has been met with legal challenges. The company has faced many setbacks both in Washington and in Nebraska, where opposition from landowners and environmentalists delayed the permitting process.
The pause, requested in a letter from the Calgary-based company to the State Department, adds new uncertainty to the controversy over the proposed pipeline, which would provide a new outlet for oil sands crude in Alberta.
TransCanada says it has spent $2.4 billion over the past seven years trying to bring the project to fruition.
The pipeline has become a key political issue, and one that has been largely divided along political lines.
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Keystone XL also has faced unexpected resistance in Alberta, home to Canada’s oil sands, with the election in May of a left-leaning government that has adopted a lukewarm approach to the project. Ms. Notley instead has signaled her support for alternative routes such as a proposed pipeline that would link to Eastern Canadian refineries.
