Montana federal judge’s latest order continues to block Keystone XL
Feb. 18, 2019
US District Judge Brian Morris issued a new ruling allowing TransCanada Corp. to build and use pipe storage and container yards for the proposed Keystone XL crude oil pipeline. But the Feb. 15 order reportedly continues to block construction of worker camps, effectively keeping work from beginning on the project.
US District Judge Brian Morris issued a new ruling allowing TransCanada Corp. to build and use pipe storage and container yards for the proposed Keystone XL crude oil pipeline. But the Feb. 15 order reportedly continues to block construction of worker camps, effectively keeping work from beginning on the project.
There was no immediate response from the Calgary oil and gas pipeline company, which is sponsoring the proposed 830,000 b/d, 36-in. heavy crude system from Hardisty, Alta., to Steele City, Neb.
Morris previously vacated a Mar. 23, 2017, US Department of State Record of Decision authorizing Keystone XL’s construction and ordered further environmental reviews (OGJ Online, Nov. 9, 2018). TransCanada said at the time that it remains committed to the project. Officials from the Association of Oil Pipe Lines and American Petroleum Institute separately criticized Morris’s order.
NICK SNOW covered oil and gas in Washington for more than 30 years. He worked in several capacities for The Oil Daily and was founding editor of Petroleum Finance Week before joining OGJ as its Washington correspondent in September 2005 and becoming its full-time Washington editor in October 2007. He retired from OGJ in January 2020.
