Canadian crude takeaway blues as three pipeline projects in limbo

摘要

In the US,work on TC Energy's Keystone XL pipeline in Montana was halted after a US District Judge ruled on April 15 that a key water permit used for the pipeline,Nationwide Permit 12,should be suspended.(Please see related article on p.39 of the May 11 Digest)The judge has revised the court ruling,now allowing the US Army Corps of Engineers to continue using Nationwide Permit 12,which speeds up the environment review process for work that crosses streams and wetlands,for utility projects.However,the requirement for further environmental review still stands for new oil and gas pipelines although maintenance and repair work on pipelines can still use Nationwide Permit 12.The Trump administration is now asking the federal appeals court to overturn the judge's ruling.The Keystone XL line is designed to carry Canadian heavy oils from Hardisty in Alberta,through the US states of Montana,S.Dakota,and Nebraska to connect the existing Keystone pipeline at Steele City in Kansas.