Keystone XL's first hurdle passed
The challenges are not over for the pipeline which will run from Alberta to the Gulf Coast
When the Keystone XL pipeline was first proposed more than eight years ago, Russ Girling, TransCanada's chief executive (he was chief operating officer at the time), probably didn't imagine the bruising battles ahead, or that it would be President Donald Trump signing off on the project's presidential permit in 2017. But Girling was positively beaming as he watched Trump announce the approval of the permit in a 24 March Oval Office ceremony. That Trump signed off on the line—which would move as much as 830,000 barrels a day of oil sands crude from Alberta to the Gulf Coast—wasn't a surprise, coming at the end of a self-imposed 60-day reevaluation period in which the verdict was never in doub
Also in this section
11 March 2026
Missiles over Dubai and disruption in Hormuz are testing the emirate’s reputation—and shaking the energy hub at the centre of the Gulf economy
11 March 2026
De la Rey Venter, CEO of LNG player MidOcean Energy, discusses strategy, project developments and the prospects for the LNG market
10 March 2026
From Venezuela to Hormuz, the US—backed by the most powerful military force ever assembled—is redrawing not only oil and gas flows but also the global balance of energy power
10 March 2026
By shutting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has cut exports of distillate-rich Middle Eastern crude, jet fuel and diesel, and is holding the energy market hostage






