Keystone XL setback will cost Canadian industry 'million', says association



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CALGARY – Bitterness and frustration were the reactions of the Canadian oil industry after a U.S.

"The decision on how to do so in Western Canada" said Tim McMillan, CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

"It's a vulnerability that we can not afford to pay for millions of jobs," he said Friday.

"And the only reason it has such a mbadive impact on us is self-inflicted wounds here at home.

U.S. District Judge Brian Morris found Thursday that the potential impact of TransCanada Corp.'s $ 10-billion pipeline had not been considered as required by federal law. Environmentalists and Native American groups, and the potential oil spills.

The judge, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, issued a federal court order blocking a trump administration permit for construction of the pipeline.

TransCanada remains committed to the project, spokesman Terry Cunha wrote in a brief email on Friday, adding the company has received the ruling and is reviewing it.

The Calgary-based pipeline company's shares fell as high as 2.75 per cent in early trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The setback in the United States is a "wake-up call" that shows how important it is for Canada to build pipelines such as the delay in the market, said Chris Bloomer, CEO of the United States. Canadian Energy Pipeline Association.

"This impacts infrastructure that's moving Canadian energy. The impact is going to be a discount, "he said.

The shortage of export pipeline space as oilsands production grows in Alberta has been blamed for the recent widening of the difference between Western Canadian Select bitumen blend and New York-traded West Texas Intermediate to as much as US $ 52 per barrel, more than three times the typical discount.

Analysts say as much as 110,000 barrels a day of crude oil is currently being made in Western Canada rather than being produced and sold at unprofitable prices.

"This is the world's longest time of war," said Zachary Rogers, a refining and oil markets research badyst at Wood Mackenzie.

The judge's ruling does not kill the Keystone XL project, he said in a report, adding he expects the fight to continue in the courts or lead to an additional U.S. State Department review by President Donald Trump approving the line again.

A spokeswoman for Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi said the Liberal government was "disappointed" by the Montana court's decision.

"It's important for good, middle-clbad jobs in Canada and for a successful energy export market," said Vanessa Adams. "The project has received all necessary approvals in Canada."

The pipeline in Canada is one of the most important components of Canada's climate change equities, she added.

Conservative natural resources critic Shannon Stubbs said the Liberals made a mistake not seeking to intervene in the case originally and they should work with U.S. officials on an appeal.

In a report, badysts at Tudor Picking & Holt said it was unlikely that TransCanada would be able to start construction in the spring of 2019 as expected.

Last January, TransCanada said it had secured a total of approximately 500,000 barrels a day on the line, including a deal with the Alberta government to 50,000 barrels a day of provincially licensed crude.

Other Keystone XL shippers include major Calgary-based oilsands producers Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Suncor Energy Inc. and Cenovus Energy Inc.

The 1,897-kilometer pipeline would carry as much as 830,000 barrels of crude per day from Hardisty, Alta., To Steel City, Neb., And on a half dozen states to refineries on the Gulf Coast.

Becky Mitchell, chairwoman of the Northern Plains Resource Council, has complained in the Montana legal action against Keystone XL, said her environmental organization is thrilled with the ruling.

The company and opponents of the project have been in a decade-long dispute that has involved standoffs between protesters and law enforcement.

In 2008, the State Department issued a presidential permit for the TransCanada pipeline to expand the project. After years of legal wrangling, Obama rejected the permit in 2015.

The company responded by seeking $ 15 billion in damages. Trump Signed Executive Actions to Again Advance Construction of the Project in 2017.

Follow @HealingSlowly on Twitter.

– With files from The Associated Press

Companies mentioned in this article include: (TSX: TRP, TSX: CVE, TSX: CNQ, TSX: SU)

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