Keystone XL Project Ended - RIP

 

Keystone XL

A Canadian energy firm behind the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline said yesterday it would formally end the project. President Joe Biden revoked the company's permit to build an extension from Montana to Steele City, Nebraska, on his first day in office. 

The canceled line was planned as the fourth phase of the larger Keystone pipeline, which is currently operational (see map) and transports more than 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta, Canada, to refineries along the US Gulf Coast. The already built line, which enters the US in North Dakota, remains operational. The addition would have increased capacity by roughly 800,000 barrels per day, or 7% of US daily consumption.

The Phase IV extension was originally opposed over its environmental impact in US Great Plains states, but became a proxy for the larger debate over climate change. See a timeline of the project here. 

Morning Brew 6-10-21

Canceled. The pipeline’s developer, TC Energy, said yesterday it was pulling the plug on the project after a decade-long game of tug of war over the pipeline's environmental impact.  

Keystone XL wasn’t exactly an active construction site. President Biden rescinded the pipeline’s construction permit on his first day in office, reflecting his administration’s commitment to fighting climate change. 

Why it matters: The announcement marks the end of a bitter feud that pitted environmentalists, Native American tribes, and farmers against Canadian officials and the energy industry. 

• The former group argued the pipeline would have widespread damaging effects on the environment, increasing greenhouse gas emissions and potentially leaking oil into a critical aquifer.
• Supporters of the pipeline said it would create thousands of well-paying construction jobs and bolster US energy security. 

Quick backstory

Well, not that quick considering the project was first announced all the way back in 2008. The plan was to build a pipeline carrying 830,000 barrels of crude oil daily from the oil sands of Alberta, Canada, to Nebraska, where it would link up with existing pipelines to carry it to Gulf Coast refineries.

President Obama delayed the project, then President Trump gave it the green light, until Biden squashed it again. Alberta had spent $1.1 billion on the project, and its demise will leave a bitter taste for Canadian leaders.

• “We remain disappointed and frustrated with the circumstances surrounding the Keystone XL project, including the cancellation of the presidential permit for the pipeline’s border crossing,” Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said.

Environmentalists and others who opposed the pipeline, meanwhile, are overjoyed that their years of public advocacy paid off. “It's a great day for Mother Earth," Larry Wright Jr., chairman of Nebraska’s Ponca Tribe, said.