TransCanada Pulls Back Keystone XL Pipeline Application
The Calgary, Alberta-based company said it is inappropriate for the Nebraska Public Service Commission to move forward with a review of the route in the state while TransCanada considers its next steps, according to an e-mailed statement from Mark Cooper, a spokesman. The project continues to have the support of shippers, labor groups and others, Cooper said.
Obama rejected Keystone on Nov. 6 after seven years of review, saying it would undercut U.S. global leadership on climate change and wouldn’t make a meaningful contribution to the nation’s economy or energy security. Keystone had become one of the most contentious energy issues of his presidency, as top Democratic donors opposed the project they said would encourage oil-sands development and exacerbate climate change.
Keystone XL would span 1,179 miles from Alberta through three states — Montana, North Dakota, and Nebraska — before connecting to an existing pipeline network feeding crude to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries. The line would carry as much as 830,000 barrels of oil a day, including some from North Dakota’s Bakken shale. Oil producers in Canada have backed Keystone XL and other projects designed to carry rising volumes of oil-sands crude to international markets.
