TransCanada asks U. S. to suspend its application

TransCanada now seeks a delay

In a surprise move that could have a ripple effect on politics in two countries, the company behind the controversyplagued Keystone XL pipeline asked the U. S. government Monday to temporarily suspend its application.

The request from TransCanada Corp. added a new wrinkle to one of the biggest Canada- U. S. political irritants of recent years, potentially pushing it off beyond the 2016 U. S. presidential election.

It came in a letter to U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry where the Calgary- based company suggested the administration should withhold its decision while the Nebraska portion of the route remains in dispute.

It represented a major turn of events for an already epic, yearslong pipeline battle — the first of several across the continent with implications for exports of Canada’s land- locked oilsands bitumen.

“TransCanada believes that it would be appropriate at this time for the State Department to pause in its review of the presidential permit application for Keystone XL,” said the letter, sent Monday.

“This will allow a decision on the permit to be made later based on certainty with respect to the route of the pipeline.”

It’s an about- face in the company’s message. Until recently, it would have been unimaginable for the Calgary company or its backers in Ottawa to have been demanding a delay.

They had repeatedly expressed urgency over a project that would carry nearly one- quarter of all Canadian oil exports. But TransCanada may have settled on a new strategic calculus: that a delay is better than a rejection.

The short- term political prospects for the project seemed dim.

President Barack Obama has repeatedly expressed skepticism about the pipeline. His supporters overwhelmingly expect him to reject it. All the major Democratic presidential candidates also oppose it.

But it has widespread backing among Republicans, and a delay now would almost inevitably make the pipeline a 2016 election issue to be settled by Obama's successor.

“It's fair to say that TransCanada is taking a step they feel is appropriate given the nature of their application before the State Department,” said Cheryl Oates, the spokesperson for Alberta Premier Rachel Notley.

“Our focus has always been to spend time building relationships to promote projects that have the best chance at success and our government will work with the oil and gas industry to expand safe market access. We will also improve our environmental record to build support for Alberta products in markets that are not available to us right now.”

A delay would offer a reprieve from a potential sore spot for a new Trudeau government hoping to build a positive relationship with the Obama administration.

There's a question mark hanging over the delay request, however: The U. S. government hasn't responded to it yet.

In fact, just a few hours earlier Monday, a White House spokesman was promising a decision during Obama's final term.

“Our expectation at this point... is that the president will make a decision before the end of his administration,” Josh Earnest told reporters.

“It's possible ( it could happen this year). It's also possible it could happen next year.”

A delay would offer a reprieve for a new Trudeau government hoping to build a positive relationship with the Obama administration.