President-elect Donald Trump wants to bring back the Keystone XL oil pipeline. But with the company behind the pipeline having cancelled their plans more than three years ago, that could get complicated.
The pipeline has been the subject of a number of U.S. approvals and reversals. The Canadian energy company TC Energy first proposed it in 2010.
In 2015, President Barack Obama rejected a proposal to allow the pipeline to cross the U.S.-Canada border. In 2017, Trump reversed that decision and approved it, and in 2021, President Joe Biden revoked Trump’s approval.
Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.
Point phone camera here
TC Energy canceled its plans for the pipeline and pulled the steel for it out of the ground. And since 2020, the government of the Canadian province of Alberta has owned the remnants of the pipeline.
Politico reported last week that Trump sees reviving the 1,200 mile pipeline between Canada and Nebraska as a political win. He believes it lets him deliver on his pro-oil campaign message and reverse a Biden policy.
Politico quoted a source they said was familiar with the plan, but who spoke anonymously. The source said, “It’s on the list of things they want to do first day.”
Reviving the pipeline, however, will face a lot of hurdles. In addition to finding a company to do the project, that company would then need to get new approval permits to rebuild the removed portions. The previous permits for the original pipeline would no longer apply.
The oil market is also already strong in the U.S. and Canada, which could also make companies less interested in building another pipeline. Canada has a pipeline of its own taking Alberta’s oil to its coast, and the U.S. is at record levels of oil output.
