Name of the Project
Keystone XL project.

Location
Canada and the US.

Project Owner/s
TC Energy.

Project description
The project will enable Canadian and US oil producers to have more access to the large refining markets in the American Midwest and along the US Gulf Coast.

The project proposes a 1 947 km, 36-inch diameter crude oil pipeline, beginning in Hardisty, Alberta, in Canada, and extending south to Steele City, Nebraska, in the US. This pipeline is a critical infrastructure project for the energy security of the US.

Along with transporting crude oil from Canada, the Keystone XL pipeline will also support the significant growth of crude oil production in the US from producers in the Bakken region of Montana and North Dakota.

The pipeline will have capacity to transport 830 000 bbl/d of oil to Gulf Coast and Midwest refineries, reducing American dependence on oil from Venezuela and the Middle East by up to 40%.

Potential Job Creation
Construction of Keystone XL will create 13 200 to 10 400 jobs in the US, and 2 800 in Canada, providing high-quality jobs and local contracting opportunities for welders, surveyors, engineers and environmental specialists, as well as communities and indigenous groups. Construction will support nearly 60 000 direct, indirect and induced employment opportunities generated by the business that will be created by supplying goods and services to the project and its workforce.

Capital Expenditure
$8-billion.

As part of the funding plan, the government of Alberta agreed to invest about $1.1-billion as equity in the project. The remaining capital investment of about $6.9-billion is expected to be funded through the combination of a $4.2-billion project level credit facility to be fully guaranteed by the government of Alberta and a $2.7-billion investment by TC Energy.

Planned Start/End Date
With preconstruction activities under way, the pipeline is expected to enter service in 2023; however, this has been brought into question, with Joe Biden having taken office in January 2021.

Latest developments
The Canadian province of Alberta that has invested $1.1-billion of taxpayers’ money in the controversial Keystone XL project is now considering the sale of pipe and materials to try to recoup some funds.

“If the project ends, there would be assets that could be sold, such as enormous quantities of pipe,” Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said in a press conference on January 18, as “that would offset construction costs.”

With US President Joe Biden‘s campaign having promise to cancel the crude pipeline’s licence is haunting the Canadian oil sands industry. The decision may come through executive action on his first day in office, CBC News reported on January 17, citing people it did not identify.

Alberta, home to the world’s third-largest crude reserves, has struggled for years with a lack of pipeline capacity to ship its crude to the US Gulf Coast and other markets. TC Energy Corp’s Keystone XL was one of the possible pipelines the industry was counting on to solve that.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Keystone XL Pipleine, email keystone@tcenergy.com.