Today the State Department informed TransCanada Corp. that the agency review of the Keystone XL pipeline and its associated permits will continue in spite of the corporation’s request that the process be paused.
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And in the meantime, oil sands producers that are hoping to transport their crude on Keystone XL have turned to alternatives, including rail and other pipelines that serve the region. A State Department spokesman says there’s no obligation, nor is there a legal basis, for slowing down a permit-review process at the behest of an applicant.
The $10 billion, 1,700-mile pipeline would cross six states, carrying oil from Canada’s tar sands region to Nebraska.
TransCanada spokesman Mark Cooper said the company would “respect the decision”.
The Canadian company requested a delay while a Nebraska route review is ongoing, which could take seven months to a year. Effectively, that would mean that, should the State Department agree to suspend or delay the review – which the White House has strongly suggested is unlikely – a final USA decision could come during the final months of the general election process.
Earlier this year the Nebraska Supreme Court upheld Keystone’s proposed route through the state following lawsuits from landowners and environmental activists.
The head of the Canadian company behind the proposed Keystone XL pipeline denied Tuesday that political motivation drove its decision to ask the USA government to delay consideration of the project.
The bulk of the Keystone XL crude could be expected to go to refiners on the Gulf Coast, many of which export refined product to global markets, and there is considerable debate over what effect the extra crude supply would have on product prices.
The Vermont independent senator said rejecting the pipeline now would show “bold leadership” in the fight to slow climate change, which Sanders called “a major, major, major planetary crisis”.
It has been unusual reversal of roles for TransCanada, which complained bitterly for years about the Obama administration’s foot dragging before suddenly requesting the process be put on hold. President Barack Obama has promised that he will make a decision on the pipeline before he leaves office. The decision all but guarantees Mr. Obama, who has sounded skeptical of Keystone’s merit and reportedly is leaning toward killing the pipeline, will be the one to decide whether the project moves ahead or is scrapped.
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However, the absence of a port will not change the company’s planned $4-billion capital spend in Quebec or affect the 4,000 promised jobs in the province, Duboyce said. Trudeau supports the Keystone XL pipeline but to a lesser degree than predecessor Stephen Harper.
