President-elect Donald Trump plans to reinstate the Keystone XL pipeline project immediately upon taking office, mirroring President Biden’s decision to cancel it on his first day in the White House.
According to a report by Politico, sources familiar with Trump’s transition team discussions revealed that reviving the Keystone XL pipeline is a top priority. “It’s on the list of things they want to do first day,” one source told Politico.
The 1,200-mile pipeline, originally developed by TC Energy, was designed to transport approximately 800,000 barrels per day of Canadian heavy crude to U.S. refineries. Advocates of the project have long emphasized that demand for these Canadian barrels has remained strong, even after the pipeline’s cancellation. Canadian crude exports to the U.S. have continued at high levels, often reaching record volumes, albeit through alternative transport methods like oil trains instead of pipelines.
Back in 2021, TC Energy filed an arbitration claim seeking compensation for losses incurred due to the project’s cancellation. “The U.S. decision to revoke the permit was unfair and inequitable,” the company stated at the time, adding that the project had endured a 13-year “regulatory rollercoaster.”
However, the trade tribunal reviewing the claim dismissed it, concluding that TC Energy did not meet the required criteria for damages. The company argued that the permit’s revocation was unjust and caused substantial financial harm, but the tribunal determined that the U.S. acted within its rights and did not violate provisions of NAFTA or the USMCA.
Since the claim’s dismissal, TC Energy has abandoned the Keystone XL project. According to Politico, the pipeline sections installed before its cancellation have already been removed. If the project were to be restarted, construction would need to begin almost entirely from scratch.
