Keystone XL Oil Project Abandoned by Developer -- 2nd Update
June 09 2021 - 06:48PM
Dow Jones News
By Timothy Puko and Vipal Monga
Canada's TC Energy Corp. and the Albertan provincial government
said Wednesday they would scuttle the Keystone XL oil pipeline
project, bringing to an end a yearslong controversy over an effort
to pipe more Canadian crude to the U.S.
The decision had been expected after President Biden used his
first day in office to revoke a key permit for the pipeline to
cross the country's northern border, shutting down
construction.
It marks a historic victory for environmentalists who for a
decade have made Keystone XL the focus of a campaign to block new
pipeline construction as a way to limit oil consumption that
contributes to global warming.
TC Energy gave little explanation for its final decision in a
Wednesday news release. It alluded to Mr. Biden's decision and said
it had completed a comprehensive review of its options before
making the final decision to terminate the project. It said that
going forward it would build its businesses in shipping and storing
natural gas, liquid fuels and power to meet growing North American
demand for cleaner fuels.
"We value the strong relationships we've built through the
development of this Project and the experience we've gained," TC
Energy Chief Executive François Poirier said.
Groups like 350.org, which targeted Keystone XL, are also
pressuring Wall Street to curb fossil-fuel extraction and were a
force behind activist investors winning board seats at Exxon Mobil
Corp. earlier this month.
Environmental groups called TC's decision a landmark moment and
350.org pointed to its own history of leading sit-ins against
Keystone XL in front of the White House. It said it would work to
defeat more pipelines.
"When this fight began, people thought Big Oil couldn't be
beat," said Bill McKibben, the founder of 350.org. "But when enough
people rise up, we're stronger even than the richest fossil-fuel
companies."
Emboldened by the successful fight against Keystone XL,
protesters have taken aim at other Canadian pipelines. On Monday,
protesters in Minnesota clashed with police as they demonstrated
against Enbridge Inc.'s construction of its crude oil Line 3 artery
through the state. In Michigan, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is
trying to revoke a permit that allows the company to transport oil
and natural gas under the Great Lakes.
Mr. Biden's permit cancellation was a major setback for Canadian
oil producers and the Canadian government, which had urged Mr.
Biden to help salvage the $8 billion project immediately after his
election. Keystone XL has been mired in court challenges and left
in limbo by shifting U.S. political leadership since it was
initially proposed in 2008.
That was a time of record oil prices, and the pipeline was
pitched as a key artery to eventually bring 830,000 barrels a day
of Canadian crude from Alberta to Nebraska and then to refineries
on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Since then, Canadian oil producers have
been rocked by falling oil prices and the government had doubled
down on getting approval for the project as a lifeline for the
industry.
But Mr. Biden agreed with environmentalists who said opening
that avenue for more crude into the U.S. conflicted with a need to
respond to climate change by shifting to cleaner sources of energy.
He said allowing the project to go ahead would undercut the
country's international credibility as Mr. Biden tried to push
other countries to lower their greenhouse-gas emissions.
"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," said
Jason Kenney, premier of Alberta. The province had invested $1.1
billion in the project and will now have to swallow the cost. The
government said it would continue to explore its options to recoup
its money.
Mr. Biden 's decision, which reversed the pipeline's approval
first given by former President Donald Trump, came before TC Energy
could finish construction in the U.S. It promptly suspended
construction, saying it would cut more than 1,000 construction
jobs.
Mr. Biden's critics decried the layoffs and several Republican
states launched a lawsuit to overturn it. It wasn't immediately
clear what would happen to that lawsuit.
"It's a disgrace President Biden played politics and killed the
Keystone XL Pipeline," said Austin Knudsen, the attorney general in
Montana, the lead plaintiff -- along with the Texas attorney
general -- of 21 states. "The pipeline would have enhanced
America's energy independence while bringing much needed jobs, tax
revenue, and economic development to rural communities in Montana
and across the country."
Write to Timothy Puko at tim.puko@wsj.com and Vipal Monga at
vipal.monga@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 09, 2021 19:48 ET (23:48 GMT)
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