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June 14, 2021

Keystone Pipeline Dead, But What Does It Mean?

After the Biden Administration revoked a key permit for a 1,200-mile stretch of the Keystone XL Pipeline, TC Energy, the company that owns the project, terminated development.

The decision is likely to have long-ranging repercussions not only for the U.S. economy and its workers, but for energy development efforts across North America.

The Keystone pipeline would have delivered more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta, Canada to U.S. Gulf Coast refiners in order to meet critical needs for transportation fuel. The project represented an $8 billion investment and also would have created thousands of U.S. jobs and millions in tax revenue along the pipeline route.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “[T]he American people will lose the most by not having access to affordable and reliable energy that would have been safely and efficiently transported by the pipeline.” The Chamber added, “We also must not forget the opportunity cost for thousands of American workers, some of which already have lost their jobs on this project, and the communities along the pipeline route that would have received millions in tax revenue to support their schools and infrastructure.”

Long term, as The Wall Street Journal noted, the failure of the Keystone XL project demonstrates the challenges of building new pipelines in both the United States and Canada.

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