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A Ninth Circuit Court judge nullified a key barrier to the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, arguing that it no longer applies after the Trump administration replaced the permit earlier this year. Judge Edward Leavy out of Montana ruled Thursday night in favor of the Trump administration and TransCanada Corporation’s motion to dismiss. The ruling sided with arguments that the old permit for the pipeline, which was replaced by the Trump administration in March, is no longer valid and therefore the injunction associated with it also no longer applies. The action hands a victory to the Trump administration, which...

Canada’s government is joining President Trump in criticizing a Montana judge’s ruling that blocked construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. “We are committed to supporting our energy sector and the hard-working Canadians it employs. Our government has always supported the Keystone XL project, and we are disappointed by this decision,” Vanessa Adams, spokeswoman for Canadian Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi, said in a statement. “It is important for good, middle-class jobs in Canada and for a successful energy export market. The project has received all necessary approvals in Canada,” she said. Adams said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government “is taking...

The Canadian energy giant TransCanada said Thursday it’s prepared to move ahead with the long-awaited Keystone XL oil pipeline and plans to start construction next year, laying to rest rumors that it would abandon the project in the wake of regulatory setbacks in Nebraska. In a statement, the company said it’s beginning to work with Nebraska landowners to secure necessary easements to allow the pipeline to go forward. “Over the past 12 months, the Keystone XL project has achieved several milestones that move us significantly closer to constructing this critical energy infrastructure for North America,” said Russ Girling, TransCanada’s president...

Despite setback, TransCanada says it is still committedNebraska regulators on Tuesday shot down a request from TransCanada to reconsider the proposed path of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, the latest in a series of setbacks for the $8 billion project and one that leaves its future very much in doubt. Nebraska’s Public Service Commission (PSC) last month green-lighted a route through its state, but the approved path wasn’t the one TransCanada prefers. The Canadian company, which has been trying to complete the Canada-to-Texas project for the past decade, said it would ask Nebraska officials to rethink their decision and amend...

Attorneys for the Trump administration said a federal judge has no authority to second-guess a presidential permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline as they seek to stop a lawsuit that would block the project. Justice Department attorneys are due in U.S. District Court in Montana on Wednesday to defend the administration’s March approval of the 1,179-mile pipeline — a lightning rod in the debate over what to do about climate change. The TransCanada proposal would transport Canadian crude oil through Montana and South Dakota to Nebraska, where it would connect with an existing system of lines to carry oil...

Seven years of foot-dragging followed by a political denial cost the company a fortune. The boss explained in detail back in November why Obama’s refusal to permit the Keystone XL pipeline was a load of crap. We’ve talked about it a lot here, and when we do, we usually focus on all the economic benefits to the United States that were lost because Obama chose to cater to his extreme leftist environmentalist base rather than govern like a serious person. But we didn’t focus quite as much on the blow this dealt to TransCanada, the company that proposed to build...

The Keystone XL saga has taken a new twist in the New Year. On Jan. 6, TransCanada (the company that would have built and operated the Alberta to Texas pipeline) launched two lawsuits over President Obama's November rejection of the pipeline. One of the lawsuits will challenge the president's constitutional authority to grant permits when Congress has already acted, as it did in early 2015 when a bipartisan bill was passed approving the construction of the pipeline. The second lawsuit seeks damages of more than US$15 billion by issuing a claim under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade...

The battle over the Keystone XL oil pipeline reignited Wednesday afternoon with a lawsuit against the Obama administration charging the White House unfairly, illegally and unconstitutionally killed the project last year. In its lawsuit, TransCanada, the Canadian company proposing the massive project, asserts that President Obama — who blocked Keystone as part of a larger plan to control greenhouse-gas emissions and fight global warming — exceeded his constitutional authority in rejecting the project. The company also filed a separate action claiming the president’s decision was “arbitrary and unjustified” and violated the North American Free Trade Agreement. “TransCanada’s legal actions challenge...

Well, that didn't take long at all. When Canadians went to the polls and kicked out the nasty conservatives in favor of an all liberal, all the time government, we were pretty sure there were some big changes coming. Among them were, no doubt, plans to fight carbon and save the planet, which is as hot of a topic among Canadian liberals as it is in the lower 48. That expectation was met quite rapidly with Justin Trudeau's announcement that he was getting ready to ban (wait for it) oil tankers off the west coast. (Yahoo News) Campaign promises often...

WASHINGTON — President Obama announced on Friday that he had rejected the request from a Canadian company to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline, ending a seven-year review that had become a symbol of the debate over his climate policies. Mr. Obama’s denial of the proposed 1,179-mile pipeline, which would have carried 800,000 barrels a day of carbon-heavy petroleum from the Canadian oil sands to the Gulf Coast, comes as he seeks to build an ambitious legacy on climate change. “America is now a global leader when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change,” Mr. Obama said...

The Fox News report that the Teamsters have decided not to endorse Hillary Clinton’s candidacy at this time, shortly after her pronouncement of her opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, does not surprise and shows the peril of trying to be all things to all constituencies. On the one hand, there is a need to placate environmentalists and climate change true believers who oppose the pipeline from Canada. Among them is billionaire Tom Steyer, an eco-zealot who has pledged his fortune in support of Democratic candidates who want to repeal the Industrial Revolution who want us to rely on solar...

The Canadian company that has spent the past seven years on a quest to build the Keystone XL pipeline through America’s heartland says it has spent $2.4 billion even before the first shovel has broken ground. If TransCanada fails in its attempt to build the pipeline, it could use a Clinton-era trade agreement to try to recoup some of that cost. The North American Free Trade Agreement signed by the United States, Canada and Mexico in 1994 lets corporations sue the members to seek payback for violations of international law. Known as a Chapter 11 claim, the suit would be...

Undaunted by the long battle over Keystone XL and current low oil prices, TransCanada Corp. is planning to build another border-crossing pipeline that would ferry North Dakota crude to refineries in Eastern Canada. TransCanada executives confirmed Friday they have signed contracts with shippers for enough capacity on the proposed 285-mile Upland pipeline to go forward with the project. It would move as many as 70,000 barrels a day of oil away from North Dakota’s Williston Basin, giving producers another alternative to shipping that crude by rail. “There is no question that production is up in North America, across the board,”...

As U.S. legislation to approve TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline waited Friday for a promised veto from U.S. President Barack Obama, the Calgary-based company said it would move ahead with another cross-border pipeline — this one to transport oil in the opposite direction. The $600-million, 460-kilometre Upland pipeline, first proposed in July 2014, has received the shipper support it requires to link multiple points in North Dakota to the proposed Energy East pipeline at Moosomin, Sask., TransCanada said Friday. The $12-billion Energy East pipeline would be an all-Canadian affair — an idea largely borne of frustrations with Washington’s interminable dithering...

Last month, a Nebraska Supreme Court decision approved a route for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline through the state. That decision effectively allowed TransCanada, the pipeline company, to begin issuing eminent domain papers to landowners in the way. But a fresh lawsuit brought by nearly 70 landowners has spurred a Nebraska judge to halt TransCanada’s eminent domain proceedings, the Huffington Post reported Thursday. “TransCanada sees the writing on the wall,” Jane Kleeb, director of Bold Nebraska, a group fighting the pipeline, said in a statement following the judge’s decision to issue an injunction. “Nebraska landowners are not going to cave...

Michigan Rep. Justin Amash was the sole Republican in the House to vote against the latest version of the bill advancing the Keystone XL Pipeline. Amash says he supports the construction of the pipeline, but he opposes legislation singling out one company. He has previously voted present on Keystone, but the addition of “new, unrelated sections empowering the EPA and the federal government with respect to local energy efficiency” pushed him to a no. In a statement published on his Facebook page, the tea party favorite said that the bill includes a lot of cronyism. Since 2013 he has argued...

Environmental groups, including Friends of the Earth, have raised concerns that the pipeline could foul underground and surface water supplies, increase air pollution around refineries and harm wildlife. They also have speculated about what they consider inadequate pipeline safety and emergency spill responses….. Supporters say the project could be a boon for U.S. jobs and energy production while strengthening a friendly source of oil.

TransCanada Corp. is dramatically expanding its effort to win public support for its proposed $12-billion Energy East project, including an effort to target opposition groups that are gearing up to fight the project in central and eastern Canada. Documents obtained by Greenpeace and released late Monday show the embattled pipeline company has hired the world’s largest public relations firm, Edelman, which has a reputation for aggressive tactics in the United States and proposed a similar approach in Canada in a strategic plan completed in August. TransCanada spokesman James Millar said Monday the company learned valuable lessons in its battle over...

TransCanada, raised estimated capital costs for Keystone XL project to C$8 billion ($7.02 billion) from an initial projection of C$5.4 billion, citing lengthy delays. Keystone XL, which would carry Alberta oil sands crude to the U.S. Gulf Coast, has been awaiting U.S. presidential permit for more than six years...

The U.S. Senate Energy Committee advanced a bill on Wednesday that would force congressional approval of TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline project, but the measure seems unlikely to be taken up by the full Senate. The bill, the latest effort by lawmakers to breathe life into the long-delayed pipeline from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast, will languish without a commitment from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to bring it to a vote. The measure, from Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Republican Senators John Hoeven of North Dakota and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, would take a decision...