TransCanada Corp. (NYSE: TRP) received approval for the Keystone XL Pipeline by the U.S. State Department, the company said March 24, ending a years-long battle for the 1,179-mile cross-border pipeline application.
“This is a significant milestone for the Keystone XL project,” Russ Girling, TransCanada’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “We greatly appreciate President Trump’s administration for reviewing and approving this important initiative and we look forward to working with them as we continue to invest in and strengthen North America's energy infrastructure.”
President Donald Trump will announce the permit alongside Girling at the White House later March 24, according to a Reuters report.
RELATED:
Keystone XL Faces Short-Term Fury, Long-Term Demand
Trump Signs Orders To Revive Dakota Access, Keystone Pipelines
RSVP: TransCanada Takes Up Trump’s Keystone Pipeline Invitation
The Keystone XL application was a contentious, drawn-out process under former President Barack Obama, who finally rejected the pipeline in November 2015, about six years after receiving the application.
On Jan. 24, four days after he was sworn in, Trump signed an executive order inviting TransCanada to re-submit an application for the Keystone XL, which the company did on Jan. 26.
Trump's order directs the secretary of state to reach a final decision within 60 days of TransCanada’s submission of the permit application. Trump also ordered the State Department to use the Keystone’s 2014 environmental assessment for its review.
Trump told reporters after signing the order that “we are going to renegotiate some of the terms” of the Keystone XL project. “And if they like, we will see if we can get that pipeline built—a lot of jobs—28,000 jobs, great construction jobs.”
Independent forecasts by the State Department estimate the line will support tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs and contribute roughly $3.4 billion to U.S. GDP, TransCanada said.
On March 24, the State Department's undersecretary for political affairs, Tom Shannon, signed and issued a presidential permit to authorizing the construction of the Canada-to-U.S. oil pipeline.
In conjunction, TransCanada said it also discontinued its $15 billion North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) suit filed against the U.S. over Keystone XL, ending its U.S. constitutional challenge.
Emily Patsy can be reached at epatsy@hartenergy.com.
Recommended Reading
TPG Adds Lebovitz as Head of Infrastructure for Climate Investing Platform
2024-02-07 - TPG Rise Climate was launched in 2021 to make investments across asset classes in climate solutions globally.
Air Products Sees $15B Hydrogen, Energy Transition Project Backlog
2024-02-07 - Pennsylvania-headquartered Air Products has eight hydrogen projects underway and is targeting an IRR of more than 10%.
NGL Growth Leads Enterprise Product Partners to Strong Fourth Quarter
2024-02-02 - Enterprise Product Partners executives are still waiting to receive final federal approval to go ahead with the company’s Sea Port Terminal Project.
Sherrill to Lead HEP’s Low Carbon Solutions Division
2024-02-06 - Richard Sherill will serve as president of Howard Energy Partners’ low carbon solutions division, while also serving on Talos Energy’s board.
Magnolia Appoints David Khani to Board
2024-02-08 - David Khani’s appointment to Magnolia Oil & Gas’ board as an independent director brings the board’s size to eight members.