Canadian company TC Energy drops Keystone pipeline project

[NEW YORK] Canada's TC Energy said on Wednesday it has terminated the Keystone XL Pipeline project, throwing in the towel on a controversial initiative opposed by the Biden administration.

TC Energy notified the government of Alberta of its decision and will coordinate with regulators, indigenous groups and other stakeholders "to meet its environmental and regulatory commitments and ensure a safe termination of and exit from the Project," the company said in a press release.

US President Joe Biden formally rescinded a permit for the pipeline by executive order on his first day in office in January.

Mr Biden had vowed during the presidential campaign to end the project over environmental concerns, a reversal of the stance taken by predecessor Donald Trump.

While the project has long been backed by Ottawa, Keystone XL had been opposed by environmentalists and indigenous groups.

The 1,947km pipeline, starting in 2023, was to transport up to 830,000 barrels of oil per day from the Alberta oil sands to Nebraska and then through an existing system to refineries in coastal Texas.

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Kendall Mackey, a campaigner with the activist group @350, said the project's demise was a harbinger of more casualties as environmentalists challenge fossil fuels.

"The fight to stop Keystone XL was never about one pipeline," Mr Mackey said in a news release. "This victory puts polluters and their financiers on notice: terminate your fossil fuel projects now - or a relentless mass movement will stop them for you."

AFP