Canada Sees No Big Hurdles for Keystone Pipeline

TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline does not face any major remaining hurdles to US approval, Canada’s ambassador to Washington said. Discussions on TransCanada’s crude-oil route are going “extremely well” with US federal authorities, David MacNaughton said Friday in an interview. “I don’t see any big hurdles in the way of Keystone from the administration’s point of view,” he said, referring to the government of President Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported. While the state of Nebraska may still have some issues, the outlook for the pipeline’s approval looks “very positive,” MacNaughton said. Approval would end years of uncertainty over the project, which sparked protests from environmentalists and created tension between the US and Canada. The route would carry crude from Canada’s oil sands to Gulf Coast refineries. In 2015, former president Barack Obama rejected the pipeline, saying the project would undercut the US fight against climate change. Trump revived the prospect of approval shortly after taking office, inviting TransCanada to reapply.