TC Energy Corp.’s 1,179-mile Keystone XL pipeline faces potential new delays after a federal court in Montana revoked a US Army Corp of Engineers (ACE) water-crossing permit for failing to assess the project’s impact on endangered species. The court’s ruling requires suspension of filling and dredging activities until the ACE conducts consultations compliant with the US Endangered Species Act.
Construction of the 830,000-b/d pipeline between Hardisty, Alta., and Steele City, Neb., resumed near the US-Canadian border earlier in April 2020. Work on the cross-border segment is not affected by the court’s ruling.
Keystone XL is underpinned by new 20-year transportation service agreements for 575,000 b/d. Once the pipeline is in service, current contracts for 115,000 b/d from Hardisty to the US Gulf Coast on the existing Keystone line also will shift to Keystone XL under renewed 20-year contracts (OGJ Online, Mar. 31, 2020).
TC Energy expects the line to enter service in 2023.