CDN NEWS | 
US NEWS 
CALGARY — TC Energy Corp. is walking away from the Keystone XL pipeline project, ending a decade-plus battle that pitted the energy industry against environmentalists as oilsands producers sought to export Canadian crude.
Construction on the pipeline was suspended earlier this year after newly elected U.S. President Joe Biden fulfilled a campaign promise to cancel its presidential permit in January.
TC Energy last month took a $2.2-billion writedown on the cancelled project, which pushed the company to a loss in its most recent quarterly earnings.
The Alberta government in March 2020 agreed to take a $1.5 billion equity stake in Keystone and provide a $6 billion loan guarantee to ensure work started immediately.
The government said Wednesday its final costs are expected to be $1.3 billion.
“We remain disappointed and frustrated with the circumstances surrounding the Keystone XL project,” Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said in a statement, “including the cancellation of the presidential permit for the pipeline’s border crossing.”
Kenney, who in January called the permit revocation a “gut punch,” said his province has an important, continued role in the North American energy system.
Alberta will work with U.S. partners to meet the country’s energy demands “through the responsible development and transportation of our resources,” he said
“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,” said TC Energy president and chief executive officer François Poirier in a statement.
“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 U.S. assets with renewable energy.
The 1,947-kilometre pipeline was designed to carry 830,000 barrels a day of crude oil from Hardisty, Alta., to Steele City, Neb. From there it would connect with the company’s existing facilities to reach the U.S. Gulf Coast — one of the world’s biggest oil refining hubs.
Some 200 kilometres of pipeline have already been laid, including across the Canada-U.S. border. The Keystone XL project was first approved by the National Energy Board in 2007.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2021.
Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)
The Canadian Press
Share This:
