President-elect Donald Trump intends to revive the defunct Keystone XL pipeline project on his first day in office, according to multiple sources familiar with his transition team’s plans.
There are significant obstacles facing the project’s resurrection, but Trump’s team seems confident they’ll be able to get it done during his second term.
The 1,200-mile Canada-to-Nebraska crude pipeline, which would have transported 830,000 barrels of oil daily and dropped gas prices across the nation, was terminated after President Joe Biden revoked its permit in January 2021.
TC Energy, the project’s original developer, has since removed installed pipeline sections and spun off its oil pipeline business.
“It’s on the list of things they want to do first day,” one Trump transition team member told Politico.
During his September debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump criticized Biden’s cancellation of the project.
“Why does Biden go in and kill the Keystone [XL] pipeline and approve the single biggest deal that Russia’s ever made, Nord Stream 2, the biggest pipeline anywhere in the world going to Germany and all over Europe?” he asked.
TC Energy’s CEO François Poirier expressed support for Trump’s energy policies following the election.
Trump “is very focused on affordability. He understands the role that energy plays, and energy security, on the international stage,” Poirier said. “Having the free flow of energy between the three countries in North America is very important. And having more supply of oil and gas from Canada will help contribute to lower prices in the U.S.”
Since the pipeline’s initial proposal, U.S. oil production has reached record levels and Canada has established new export routes through the West Coast, potentially diminishing the economic return for Keystone XL’s revival.
Any reconstruction effort would require new permits and face fresh challenges from Democratic Party leaders.
“They can try, but they’ll be starting from scratch,” said Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party. “When the federal permit got revoked, we just didn’t celebrate — we went all the way through the court system to make sure the easements were returned to landowners.”
The Trump transition team acknowledges these hurdles but views the project’s symbolic value as significant.
“Everyone in the country knows what the KXL pipeline is,” said another transition source.
“It’s energy. It’s infrastructure. It’s construction.”