Study touted as good news for pipeline
But a number of roadblocks dot landscape
Alberta says a new U.S. State Department report sets the Keystone XL pipeline on the route to approval, but the link between the oilsands and the Gulf Coast still faces major obstacles.
The provincial government views Keystone XL as crucial for petroleum producers to get world prices for Alberta’s landlocked heavy oil, which would ultimately increase royalty payments.
“The findings are consistent with the analysis Alberta has put on the table in our various face-to-face meetings with key decision-makers in Washington and our submissions made on this important file,” Premier Alison Redford said in a written statement Friday. “I’m pleased that by respecting and actively participating in the process, our input has been accepted and understood.”
In Calgary, Energy Minister Diana McQueen noted that Redford has travelled five times to Washington, D.C., to lobby for the project and said Alberta’s arguments about its environmental stewardship are reflected in the report.
“We expect the president’s final decision will be based on science and fact,as confirmed in today’s final environmental impact statement,” McQueen told reporters.
TransCanada CEO Russ Girling also called for rapid approval and said the Calgary-based company was “well-prepared to move into this next phase.”
“The case for Keystone XL, in our view ... is as strong as ever,” he told reporters.
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers president David Collyer said the report is a “very positive and encouraging.”
From a process standpoint, he said the release of the study starts the clock on the 90-day national interest determination process, which gives “some certainty” as to when a decision will be made.
Greenpeace Alberta spokesman Mike Hudema said the State Department’s contention that Keystone won’t increase emissions because the oilsands will be developed anyway is “deeply flawed.
“There’s no way you can build a massive new pipeline without further accelerating the climate crisis, and that’s exactly what the Keystone pipeline will do,” he said.
The State Department still has to issue a National Interest Determination report, which will ask in part whether the U.S. needs Alberta oil when domestic American oil production is at an all-time high.
Both the Environmental Impact Study and the National Interest Determination study must be followed by a 90-day period during which the State Department seeks comment from other departments, which could also spark a new set of public hearings.
In addition, the State Department’s Inspector General is investigating allegations that the company hired to conduct the environmental impact study has undisclosed ties to TransCanada and ExxonMobil and is therefore in a conflict. That report is also scheduled to be released soon, and if the investigation finds the company lied on its conflict of interest form, a new company would have to be hired to redo the study. That could take another year.
Finally, 115 landowners in Nebraska have sued the state, challenging the constitutionality of a new law that gave the governor the power to approve the TransCanada pipeline route. If the landowners win, TransCanada will have to get its route reapproved. The judgment is due by March 27.