The developer of the Keystone XL oil pipeline has officially announced it is pulling the plug on the controversial 1,200-mile project.
TC Energy Corporation confirmed the termination of the $9 billion (£6.3bn) project after a “comprehensive review” of its options and in consultation with its partner, the Government of Alberta.
The news follows an executive order signed by President Joe Biden in January 2021 to halt the construction of the oil pipeline, which was planned to carry more than 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.
To date, roughly 150 kilometres of pipeline has been installed in Alberta, with the project employing more than 1,600 people during peak construction, despite many opponents opposing the construction, saying it was unnecessary and would hamper the US transition to cleaner fuels.
Jason Kenney, Premier of Alberta said: “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.
“Having said this, Alberta will continue to play an important role in a reliable, affordable North American energy system. We will work with our US partners to ensure that we are able to meet US energy demands through the responsible development and transportation of our resources.”
TC Energy believes there is “tremendous opportunity” for the company in the energy transition and will continue to leverage its diverse businesses in natural gas and liquid transportation along with storage and power generation.
François Poirier, TC Energy’s President and Chief Executive Officer added: “We value the strong relationships we’ve built through the development of this project and the experience we’ve gained. We remain grateful to the many organisations that supported the project and would have shared in its benefits, including our partners, the Government of Alberta and Natural Law Energy, our customers, pipeline building trade unions, local communities, Indigenous groups, elected officials, landowners, the Government of Canada, contractors and suppliers, industry associations and our employees.
“Through the process, we developed meaningful Indigenous equity opportunities and a first-of-its-kind, industry leading plan to operate the pipeline with net zero emissions throughout its lifecycle. We will continue to identify opportunities to apply this level of ingenuity across our business going forward, including our current evaluation of the potential to power existing US assets with renewable energy.”
