It was Trump’s first speech detailing the energy policies he would advance from the White House.
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In the press conference, Trump said he wanted the USA government to “get out of the way” of the energy sector and become energy independent.
The comments also drew quick criticism from environmental advocates, who called his proposals “frightening”.
Asked for a reaction to Trump’s comment, Laurel Munroe, chief spokeswoman for Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr, said, “We wouldn’t comment on a hypothetical like that”.
But industry executives cheered the stance. “If Clinton wins, oil workers will be unhappy”, said Derrick Alexander, an operations manager at oilfield services firm Integrated Productions Services, which has laid off 2,000 workers in recent months.
“I want to be energy independent”. “Imagine a world in which oil cartels will no longer use energy as a weapon”, he said.
Trump’s keynote Thursday at the annual Williston Basin Petroleum Council Conference and Expo was sold out, with more than 4,000 tickets made available in addition to those included with expo attendees’ registration.
The debate over the pipeline created tension in the relationship between the United States and Canada, which had hoped the project would increase the capacity for Canadian oil sands exports to the US market.
The controversial pipeline had become a flashpoint for US environmentalists.
Because it would run along American land, Trump said, the USA deserves “a piece of the profits, because we’re making it happen”. “That’s how we’re going to make our country rich again”.
Republican Presidential contender Donald Trump says he would approve TransCanada’s (TRP.TO) Keystone XL pipeline if elected.
In his speech, Trump also promised to cancel the USA participation in the Paris climate change accord.
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More than 7,000 people are slated to hear Trump speak.
