After years of trying to get Canadian oil into the US, the Keystone XL pipeline is officially dead. On Wednesday, developer TC Energy Corp. and the Alberta provincial government conceded that the project is shutting down.
Actually, TC and Alberta already knew their time was up when President Joe Biden revoked their permit to cross into the northern US borders. After that, they knew this day would come.
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Environmentalists Rejoice Over Keystone XL’s Demise
The Keystone XL shutdown marked a historic win for environmentalists. For more than a decade, activists made Keystone XL a rallying cry against fossil fuels.
Groups joined together to campaign against pipeline construction, saying that excessive oil consumption is the heart of global warming. Keystone XL became the unlucky symbol of Big Oil’s excessiveness.
TC Energy said little about the pipeline’s shutdown. It said that Biden’s earlier decision doomed the project’s viability and that it made a comprehensive review that concluded in terminating the project.
“We value the strong relationships we’ve built through the development of this project and the experience we’ve gained,” CEO François Poirier said.
Instead, TC will now concentrate on growing its business of shipping and storing natural gas, liquid fuels, and power. These cleaner fuels hope to address the growing demand in North America.
Rise Of Fossil Fuel Activists
Activist groups such as 350.org spearheaded the opposition against Keystone XL. They hailed TC’s decision to shutter the project and then owed to having other pipelines shut down as well.
Currently, they are campaigning for Wall Street to limit the rates of fossil-fuel extraction. This includes barging into boardrooms, where they helped activist investors gain board seats at Exxon Mobil Corp. earlier this month.
“When this fight began, people thought Big Oil couldn’t be beaten. But when enough people rise up, we’re stronger even than the richest fossil-fuel companies,” ’’ said Bill McKibben, 350.org founder.
Emboldened by Keystone XL’s downfall, proptester are looking to pressure other Canadian pipelines to shut down. Last Monday, Minnesota protesters clashed with police as they protested Enbridge Inc’s Line 3 artery construction.
They got support from Michigan, where Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer is attempting the revocation of a permit allowing Enbridge to transport oil and natural gas under the Great Lakes.
Canadian Oil Setback
Canadian oil producers and the Canadian government suffered a major setback with the revelation of Keystone XL’s permit.
Prior to his election, both parties asked Biden to save the $8 billion project they initiated last 2008. Instead, they continued receiving a slew of court challenges until finally deciding to shutter the project.
Presently, the Canadian oil industry suffers from falling prices, It counted on Keystone to help turn their fortunes around. Instead, Biden snubbed them in favor of activists by saying more crude coming into the US is in conflict with their objective in fighting climate change.
“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 invested $1.1 billion in the project. With the shutdown, they will now absorb the loss. However, the government said it would continue to explore options to recoup the money.
Economic Fallout
Biden’s decision to revoke Keystone XL’s permit nullified former President Donald Trump’s approval. However, TC Energy failed to complete construction in the US by the time Biden arrived at the White House.
As a result, TC had to hope that Biden will OK a continuance. Instead of resuming, they now have to announce the cutting back of 1,000 construction jobs. As a result, many GOP members in the Senate and GOP states filed suit to revoke Biden’s veto.
Montana’s attorney general Ahustin Knudsen still remains incredulous over the loss of jobs and revenues. “It’s a disgrace President Biden played politics and killed the Keystone XL Pipeline.
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,” he said.
Knudsen and Montana are leading the lawsuit against the Biden White House. Texas and 22 other states also joined in the filing of the complaint.
Watch the 12NewsNow video reporting that the Keystone XL Pipeline is dead after President Biden revokes permit:
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