TransCanada files claim on Keystone XL rejection

Washington

TRANSCANADA Corp is seeking to recoup US$15 billion for the Obama administration's rejection of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, in a legal claim that highlights how foreign companies can use trade deals to challenge US policy.

The Calgary-based pipeline operator filed papers late on Friday seeking arbitration under the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), arguing that TransCanada had every reason to believe that it would win approval to build Keystone XL. Instead, President Barack Obama last November determined that the pipeline, which would have carried Canadian oil sands crude to the US Gulf coast, was not in the national interest. In response, TransCanada in January vowed to use arbitration provisions in Chapter 11 of Nafta to recover costs and damages.