TransCanada Corp.’s controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline schedule has been delayed further, with the expected start up date now being pushed back to 2015 instead of its previously anticipated 2014 commencement.
The Obama administration denied the pipeline, planned to transport crude oil from Alberta to the Gulf Coast, a permit to cross the border into the United States earlier this year. The administration had postponed making a decision until 2013, and rejected the proposal when Republican legislation was passed to force the State Department to make a decision by the end of February, stating that the deadline did not provide enough time to review the project. TransCanada has been invited to apply again and the company believes that the USD7.6 billion, 1,700 mile line will be granted approval eventually.
The delay is being attributed to the company awaiting answers from the American government regarding the material it will be allowed to refile from the rejected application and the time needed for the process of re-filing the application. TransCanada is also researching a planned 100-mile re-route to avoid an environmentally sensitive area in Nebraska.