Keystone XL Pipeline Asks For Delay In Final Ruling

• Canadian-based TransCanada Corporation (NYSE: TRP) petitioned the U.S. government to delay a final ruling on the Keystone XL project.
• The proposed pipeline would transport heavy crude from Alberta to Nebraska and then on to Gulf Coast refineries.
• A White House spokesman said that U.S. President Barack Obama plans on making a final decision before his presidency ends in early January.

TransCanada, the Calgary, Alberta-based company behind the Keystone XL pipeline, wrote a letter to the U.S. government to halt its review of the pipeline project.

The 1,179-mile pipeline would carry nearly 800,000 barrels of heavy crude from Alberta to Nebraska and then on to Gulf Coast refineries. Construction on the project has been delayed for years and in February, President Obama vetoed a congressional bill that would have green-lit the project.

In a letter to the U.S. State Department, TransCanada's CEO Russ Girling requested a delay in the final ruling of the project based on the fact that the company applied to the Nebraska Public Service Commission for approval of its preferred route in the state.

USA Today quoted Josh Earnest, a White House spokesman who said Obama intends to make a final decision on the pipeline before his presidency ends in January 2017. Reuters also stated that the U.S. State Department will continue its review of the project for now.

TransCanada has faced opposition from environmental groups, such as Greenpeace, since day one. Obama's administration has also become more vocal on climate change.

In Canada, outgoing Prime Minister Stephen Harper pushed for approval of the project and openly sided with Republican leaders in lobbying for the project. However, Prime Minister Elect Justin Trudeau said the pipeline is an "important energy infrastructure" during his first visit official visit to the US capital – a sign that the battle over the pipeline isn't dead just yet.