Biden revokes KXL permit in blow to Canada's oil sector

CALGARY: US President Joe Biden on Wednesday formally revoked the permit needed to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline (KXL), dashing Ottawa’s hopes of salvaging the $8 billion project that the struggling Canadian crude sector has long supported.

The move represents another set-back for the beleaguered Canadian oil industry, in particular its energy heartland Alberta, kills thousands of jobs, and marks an early bump in Biden’s relationship with Canada, a key trading partner.

Keystone XL, owned by TC Energy Corp, is already under construction in Canada, and would carry 830,000 barrels per day of Alberta oil sands crude to Nebraska.

But opposition from U.S. landowners, Native American tribes, and environmentalists has delayed the project for the past 12 years and Biden had long pledged to scrap the permit.

“While we welcome the President’s commitment to fight climate change, we are disappointed but acknowledge the President’s decision to fulfill his election campaign promise on Keystone XL,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, who earlier this week threatened legal action if Keystone XL was scrapped, said on Wednesday he was “deeply disturbed” by the move.

“This is a gut punch for the Canadian and Alberta economies. Sadly it is an insult directed at the United States’ most important ally and trading partner,” Kenney told a news conference.

Christy Goldfuss, an energy and environment policy expert at the liberal Center for American Progress in Washington said a major part of the Biden administration’s climate strategy is to avoid building new long-lasting oil and gas projects such as KXL.

“The more we invest in fossil fuel infrastructure, the harder it is to transition to the investments we need to make for clean energy,” said Goldfuss, who ran the Council on Environmental Quality in former President Barack Obama’s White House.