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Trump pledges easy approval for Keystone XL pipeline

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TC Energy ( TRP ) spun off oil pipeline business into South Bow

Energy

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South Bow ( SOBO ) says has moved on from the project

(Adds to Feb 24 story a statement from South Bow ( SOBO ) in paragraphs

3, 7)

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Republican U.S. President

Donald Trump said on Monday he wanted the Keystone XL Pipeline

built and pledged easy regulatory approvals for the crude oil

project, which was opposed for years by environmentalists before

its permit was revoked by the Biden administration.

The $9 billion pipeline was first proposed in 2008 to bring

830,000 barrels per day of oil from Canada's Western tar sands

to U.S. refiners and was halted in 2021 by then-owner TC Energy ( TRP )

after former Democratic President Joe Biden revoked a

key permit needed for a U.S. stretch of the project.

In a social media post on Monday, Trump urged the company

that was building the pipeline to "come back to America," saying

his administration would offer easy approvals and an almost

immediate start, though the company said on Tuesday that it had

moved on from the project.

"The Trump Administration is very different (from the Biden

administration) - Easy approvals, almost immediate start! If not

them, perhaps another Pipeline Company. We want the Keystone XL

Pipeline built," Trump said in the post.

Trump's post did not name a company and only referred to the

one that was building the pipeline earlier.

TC Energy ( TRP ) spun off its oil pipeline business in October last

year into a new company named South Bow Energy.

"We've moved on from the Keystone XL project," said South

Bow ( SOBO ) spokeswoman Katie Stavinoha in an email on Tuesday. "We

continue to engage with customers to develop options to increase

Canadian oil supplies to meet growing demand."

TC Energy ( TRP ) has sought

to recover

more than $15 billion from the U.S. government for the

cancellation of its Keystone XL project.

Opponents of that pipeline had fought its construction for

years, saying it was unnecessary and would hamper the U.S.

transition to cleaner fuels.

The Keystone XL pipeline project was delayed due to

opposition from U.S. landowners, Native American tribes and

environmentalists.

Trump had approved a permit for the line in 2017, but it

continued to face legal challenges that hampered construction.

Biden had committed to canceling the project during his 2020

campaign and revoked the permit soon after taking office in

2021.