CALGARY, Alberta / OTTAWA (Reuters) – US President-elect Joe Biden’s long-awaited decision to cancel Keystone XL pipeline on Monday prompted Canada’s main oil-producing province of Alberta to threaten to seek damage, as Ottawa was making efforts to save the project problem.
Removing the project would threaten Canadian jobs and the U.S.-Canada relationship, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tries to turn the page on the Donald Trump era, although the idea backed the support of environmental groups and progressive senator Bernie Sanders.
A source told Reuters on Sunday that Biden will cancel a $ 8 billion project permit for concerns about fossil fuels contributing to climate change, which will cause a severe blow to Canada’s energy sector.
The news sent Monday the actions of Keystone XL owner TC Energy, prompting Alberta Prime Minister Jason Kenney to urge Trudeau to contact the Biden administration within the next 48 hours. Biden, a Democrat, will have to take the oath on Wednesday.
“It’s 11 o’clock now and if that’s really the top priority, as it should be, then we need the Government of Canada to stand up for Canadian workers, Canadian jobs, the Canadian-American relationship,” Kenney said. say at a press conference.
He said Alberta had maintained legal advice and believed there was a “very solid” legal basis for claiming damages under international free trade agreements if the pipeline is effectively assassinated by a presidential president. Alberta’s financial exposure is just over 1 billion Canadian dollars ($ 783 million), Kenney said, after the province invested last year in the pipeline, also known as KXL.
KXL intends to transport 830,000 barrels of crude oil a day from Alberta to Nebraska, but has faced fierce opposition from U.S. landowners, Native American tribes, and environmentalists. Outgoing Republican President Donald Trump had supported the project.
Ottawa diplomats continue to relate to their U.S. counterparts on Keystone XL, according to two sources close to the Keystone XL file, and one of them said TC Energy continues to press.
“Right now we don’t have a decision from the Biden administration. We should continue to work,” said a source, who added that Trudeau had consistently supported the pipeline and would continue to do so. “It’s not over until a decision is made public.”
“While there have been reports suggesting a decision is imminent, we feel it is possible that this could drag on for several weeks,” a second source said.
The Trudeau government has previously urged the president-elect not to stop construction. Canadian Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan said Monday in a statement that Canada would continue to put pressure on KXL with the Biden administration.
KXL owner TC Energy said Monday in a statement that the pipeline fits Biden’s vision of a cleaner energy future that generates jobs. TC promised on Sunday that KXL would be fully operational with renewable energy by 2030.
The cancellation would be a severe blow to a Canadian First Nations group known as Natural Law Energy that planned to invest, said its chief executive Brian Mountain, though he added that the group has not yet closed its purchase and that there is no First Nations financial risk.
KXL was first proposed 12 years ago, when it looked like Alberta’s oil sands would quickly exceed the capacity of the exporting pipeline. However, two other export pipeline projects are underway, the Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain Expansion, and the replacement of Enbridge Inc.’s Line 3, reducing the need for KXL.
TC Energy closed 4.5% at C $ 54.00 in Toronto on Monday.
(1 $ = 1.2762 Canadian dollars)
Additional reports from Rod Nickel in Winnipeg and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; additional reports by Kanishka Singh in Bengal; edited by Steve Orlofsky and Jonathan Oatis