TransCanada denies it’s playing politics on pipeline
U. S. presidential election not factor in request to suspend review, firm says
The company behind the longdelayed Keystone XL pipeline denies the 2016 U. S. presidential election was a factor when it asked for the review of the project to be suspended.
TransCanada has tried to stay out of politics throughout the project’s often torturous journey through the U. S. regulatory process — and the latest move announced late Monday is no exception, said CEO Russ Girling.
“We’ve worked very hard for seven years to keep our head down and work our way through every twist and turn,” he said Tuesday. “There’s things we can control. There’s things we can’t control. And obviously we’re focused on those that we can.”
The U. S. State Department said it will continue reviewing the project even as it considers TransCanada’s request to pause its evaluation.
“We’re going to get back to them; while that takes place we’re not going to pause,” State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau told reporters in Washington on Tuesday.
The department didn’t offer an estimate of when it would respond to TransCanada, and Trudeau said she didn’t know whether the department would have to consult other U. S. government agencies. She also said she wasn’t aware of any requirement for the U. S. to consult with Canada on the company’s request.
U. S. President Barack Obama has made it known he’s not a fan of the cross- border crude pipeline, expressing skepticism over its economic benefits and concern over its contribution to climate change.
Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton — who would have handled the Keystone file during her time as secretary of state — has also spoken out against the US$ 8- billion development after a long silence.
If the U. S. State Department process is suspended for long enough, a more pipeline- friendly Republican may be in the White House by the time the review is complete.
But Girling said that wasn’t part of the calculus in asking the State Department to hit pause while a separate regulatory process in Nebraska over the pipeline’s route is worked out, which could take between seven and 12 months.
“It’s our view that the State Department process should not continue at the current time on its current path if there’s new information that’s going to be provided from a review in Nebraska,” he said. “That’s the way that it’s been managed to date and the way that we are expecting that it’s going to be managed in the future.”
Keystone XL would carry crude oil along a 1,897- kilometre pipeline from the southeast Alberta community of Hardisty to Steele City, Neb., where it would link up with other pipelines that run to the Gulf Coast and the Midwest. It would carry an average of 830,000 barrels of oil a day to U. S. refineries.
A spokesman for Obama characterized TransCanada’s request as peculiar.
“Given how long it’s taken, it seems unusual to me to suggest that somehow it should be paused yet again,” said Josh Earnest.
“But this is something the State Department is still considering. When the administration has a reaction to the letter they’ll be the ones to announce it.”
As for whether a decision will occur before Obama leaves office in January 2017, he said: “That continues to be the current plan even as we evaluate their request and consider the reasoning behind it.”
AltaCorp Capital analyst Dirk Lever said TransCanada’s move makes sense, given that continuing to push Obama on approving the pipeline appears to be a waste of time.
“Obama’s been pretty outspoken on his views, so why push him? Get the state stuff done and don’t have them spinning their wheels, especially if you have to change something in your submission,” he said.
“You get this close to an election and you’ve got some heavy lifting still to do in Nebraska. Why have them go through the exercise, especially if there may be a change down the road?”
Hardisty Mayor Anita Miller said TransCanada’s request is “really unfortunate” and will affect “lots and lots of people,” particularly in support businesses such as gas stations, hotels and restaurants.
TransCanada is one of nine oil companies working in and around the town, which has 700 permanent residents along with 250 oil industry workers, although that number used to be 500 when oil prices were high.
TransCanada reported thirdquarter profit fell as lower electricity prices in Alberta and disruptions at its Bruce nuclear plant crimped revenues in its energy division.