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WASHINGTON, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department on Friday granted a presidential permit to TransCanada Corp for building the Keystone XL pipeline which was blocked by the Obama administration in 2015.
The permit authorized the company to construct, connect, operate, and maintain pipeline facilities at the U.S.-Canada border for the importation of crude oil, said the State Department.
"This is a significant milestone for the Keystone XL project," said Russ Girling, TransCanada's president and chief executive officer, in a statement on Friday.
"We greatly appreciate President Trump's administration for reviewing and approving this important initiative and we look forward to working with them as we continue to invest in and strengthen North America's energy infrastructure," said Girling.
The 8-billion-U.S. dollar Keystone XL project was proposed to go from Canada through the U.S. states of Montana and South Dakota to Nebraska, where it would connect with existing pipelines to carry more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day to refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The project was rejected by the Obama administration in November 2015, because Democrats and environmental groups said it could worsen climate change by enabling further growth from the oil sands, which create higher greenhouse gas emissions than some other forms of production.
After several days in office, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to advance the Keystone XL project. He claimed that the project can create "a lot of jobs, 28,000 jobs, great construction jobs."
The project is expected to face strong opposition from environmental groups, as well as state-level legal challenges in Nebraska and South Dakota.
