Keystone XL Pipeline Developer Nixes Project

The Canadian company that developed the Keystone XL oil pipeline announced on Wednesday that it would abandon the project. TC Energy, based in Calgary, Alberta, said construction of the pipeline ceased following President Biden’s revocation of a presidential permit in January 2021. “TC Energy Corporation…confirmed today that after a comprehensive review of its options, and in consultation with its partner, the Government of Alberta, it has terminated the Keystone XL Pipeline Project,” the company said in a statement. The pipeline would have transported oil over 1,700 miles from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast, where the oil would be processed in refineries. Environmentalist groups have long fought construction of the pipeline, citing concerns over potential spills, and some Native American groups have opposed construction on or near tribal lands. “The Keystone XL pipeline disserves the U.S. national interest,” according to Biden’s January 20th executive order revoking the construction permit for the pipeline. The order argues that because of climate change, and “because most greenhouse gas emissions originate beyond our borders,” the U.S. must exercise leadership to put the “world on a sustainable climate pathway.” TC Energy emphasized that the pipeline itself would have operated with net-zero carbon emissions. The company developed “a first-of-its-kind, industry leading plan to operate the pipeline with net-zero emissions throughout its lifecycle,” TC CEO François Poirier said on Wednesday. “We will continue to identify opportunities to apply this level of ingenuity across our business going forward, including our current evaluation of the potential to power existing U.S. assets with renewable energy.”  LINK