The failure of the Keystone XL project showcased the obstacles in building new pipelines in the United States and Canada in the midst of galvanized environmental groups. It delivered a blow to oil-and-gas companies that currently must be dependent on aging infrastructure. Demonstrators targeted Keystone XL, which Canada's TC Energy Corp. abandoned on Wednesday, and other pipelines for over a decade. They were looking to choke off fossil-fuel usage by making it more difficult to transport.
The Keystone XL oil pipeline's developer has abandoned the project following President Joe Biden revoking a permit. It was a significant flashpoint in the debate over the role of fossil fuels in climate change.
Ending a Decade-Long Battle
The failure of the Keystone XL project showcased the obstacles in building new pipelines in the United States and Canada in the midst of galvanized environmental groups. It delivered a blow to oil and gas companies that currently must be dependent on aging infrastructure.
Demonstrators have targeted Keystone XL, which Canada's TC Energy Corp. abandoned on Wednesday, and other pipelines for over a decade. They were looking to choke off fossil-fuel usage by making it more difficult to transport.
The Keystone XL oil pipeline's developer has abandoned the project following President Joe Biden's revocation of the permit. It was a significant flashpoint in the debate over the role of fossil fuels in climate change.
Ending a decade-long battle
TC Energy had already suspended construction in January. The declaration ends an over a years-long battle that came to symbolize the debate over whether fossil fuels should be left in the ground because of the issue of climate change, reported NPR.
Keystone XL is an $8-billion oil pipeline that was slated to flow from Alberta to Nebraska. Although Alberta is currently on the hook for over $1 billion in lost profit following the cancellation of the expansion pipeline, there is division over the effects of its termination.The proposed pipeline expansion would have delivered over 800,000 barrels of carbon-intensive tar sands oil each day from Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska. Once positioned, the pipeline would have met with existing pipeline infrastructure to travel farther south to the Gulf Coast's oil refineries, reported Vox.
The news is reportedly appealing to environmental activists. However, critics consider it a massive geopolitical blunder by the Biden administration, which sets forth politics and ideology in front of national interests.
The Keystone XL pipeline is already part of a transnational network. It is segmented into phases that cross Canada and the US, reported Forbes.
Environmental activists and indigenous groups have fought hard against an additional pipeline slicing south from Alberta, Canada down through Montana, South Dakota, and into Nebraska. This is where it would join up with existing pipelines that would transport oil to the Gulf Coast. Almost 300 miles of the pipeline had been built following former President Donald Trump's first day in office reversing an Obama-era ban on the project.
According to TC Energy, it decided the termination after a comprehensive review of its options. It also consulted with the government of Alberta, Canada. The company stated it would coordinate with stakeholders, regulators, and indigenous groups to affirm a safe exit from the project.
However, the United States and Canada are still dependent on pipelines to carry fossil fuels that support transportation, commerce, cooling, and heating. As pipelines become increasingly hard to build, the nations will become more reliant on an older infrastructure that is susceptible to disruptions.
The news is a defeat for the oil industry. Environmentalists were opposed to the pipeline partly due to the oil it would transport -- oil sands crude from Alberta.
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