The proposed construction of a pipeline that would carry crude oil from Canada to the ports in the Gulf of Mexico and into the world market has been rejected.

The 1,179-mile Keystone XL oil pipeline would have carried 800,000 barrels of petroleum a day.

US President Barack Obama said the project, which led to numerous protests, “would not serve the national interest of the US”.

Citing some of the State Department’s reasons for the rejection, he added the pipeline “would not make a meaningful long term contribution to our economy”, it wouldn’t lower gas prices for consumers and that shipping “dirtier crude oil” into the country wouldn’t increase energy security in the US.

He added: “America is now a global leader when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change and frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership and that’s the biggest risk we face – not acting.

“Today, we’re continuing to lead by example. Because ultimately, if we’re going to prevent large parts of this Earth from becoming not only inhospitable but uninhabitable in our lifetimes, we’re going to have to keep some fossil fuels in the ground rather than burn them and release more dangerous pollution into the sky.”

Developer TransCanada said it is “disappointed” with the President’s announcement, claiming thousands of job opportunities have been lost.

CEO Russ Girling added: “Today, misplaced symbolism was chosen over merit and science – rhetoric won out over reason.

“TransCanada and its shippers remain absolutely committed to building this important energy infrastructure project. We will review our options to potentially file a new application for border-crossing authority to ship our customer’s crude oil and will now analyse the stated rationale for the denial.”