Keystone pipeline poised for approval
The U.S. State Department is expected to approve TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline on Friday, eliminating a crucial hurdle for the project after more than eight years of political wrangling.
Several news reports on Thursday, citing anonymous sources, said Tom Shannon, undersecretary for political affairs, would sign the crossborder permit. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former Exxon Mobil Corp. CEO, recused himself from the department’s proceedings.
A presidential permit for Keystone XL, which has been widely expected under the new administration, would give TransCanada a key regulatory approval on the highly divisive pipeline proposal.
The approval would reverse a veto by then president Barack Obama in late 2015, who rejected the project on environmental grounds.
TransCanada spokesperson Terry Cunha said the company had “no insight” as to whether U.S. authorities would approve the roughly US$8-billion proposal.
Monday would mark the end of the 60-day timeline set for a decision on the US$8-billion project, set in January. U.S. President Donald Trump invited TransCanada to resubmit its application to the State Department during his first week in office.
Trump’s executive order to eventually approve the project came with several conditions, including that the pipe be manufactured using U.S. steel.
That condition was reversed as reports emerged that a significant portion of steel to be used in the project had already been manufactured and delivered to various storage yards. Much of the steel pipe was manufactured by an Arkansas-based company majorityowned by Indian conglomerate Welspun Group. A Saskatchewan-based steelmaking company owned by London-based Evraz Plc also supplied a portion of the steel contracted by TransCanada.
Keystone XL became a symbolic battleground, fuelled by widespread concerns over possible pipeline leaks and broader worries over climate change.
While the presidential permit is a significant step, the company still needs to secure several state-level permits before construction can begin.