04 November 2015•Update: 05 November 2015
By Barry Ellsworth
TRENTON, Ont.
The White House said Tuesday that a Canadian company’s request to postpone a decision on an oil pipeline running from Canada to U.S. Gulf coast was “unusual”.
A spokesman for President Barack Obama said the administration will mull TransCanada’s request but in the meantime, the review of the application will continue and an answer would come from the State Department.
Obama’s previous comments about the pipeline, which would carry about one-quarter of Canada’s oil exports, have been negative and Canadian analysts are divided as to whether TransCanada’s request is a smart move or a desperate gamble.
One the one hand, Trevor McLeod of the Canada West Foundation said the controversial project had been seen as “dead in the water.” The suspension of the application could allow the company time to lobby strong opposition in the U.S. against the pipeline.
TransCanada said its request is not political – it needs a chance to resolve the route of the pipeline through the state of Nevada.
The company said it would take about a year to solve the dispute, which would allow for a new president to land in the White House. Republicans are seen as more favorable to the project.
McLeod said if the delay is approved, the pipeline’s fate would likely rest on who wins the 2016 election.
“It has become a political football with the Democrats, including the current president and Hillary Clinton, saying they are not in favor,” McLeod said. “The Republicans all seem to be on side with the pipeline.”
At a press conference Tuesday in Washington, State Department spokesman Elizabeth Trudeau clarified the status of the application.
“TransCanada has not withdrawn their permit application,” she said, adding that the company asked that the review process be suspended.
She said the U.S. will respond to the request but will continue its review.
“Once we have analyzed all the information needed to complete the review, then the secretary will make a final determination,” she said.
The 1900-kilometer (1,200-mile) Keystone XL pipeline would carry crude oil from Alberta's oil sands through U.S. states, ending in a section of the pipeline in Nebraska. From there it would link with an already existing section of the pipeline to take oil to refineries along the Texas coastline.
Opponents cite environmental and energy concerns for the massive project while supporters say it would create jobs and would break the U.S.'s need for foreign oil.
