Canadian energy company TransCanada applied Thursday to build the Keystone XL pipeline, two days after President Trump issued a presidential decree for the project to move ahead.
The pipeline was delayed for nearly eight years under the Obama administration, until former President Barack Obama said he would not approve the project in November 2015.
Trump promised to approve the pipeline project in his first 100 days in office and on Tuesday issued a presidential order to move the project forward.
Trump said Tuesday that the project would create “a lot of jobs. 28,000 jobs. Great construction jobs.”
The company is requesting a presidential permit to construct the cross-border portion of the line to move petroleum from Canada’s oil sands to U.S. refiners in the Gulf of Mexico.
“This privately funded infrastructure project will help meet America’s growing energy needs as well as create tens of thousands of well-paying jobs and generate substantial economic benefit throughout the U.S. and Canada,” said TransCanada’s president Russ Girling.
“KXL will strengthen the United States’ energy security and remains in the national interest,” Girling said. “The project is an important new piece of modern U.S. infrastructure that secures access to an abundant energy resource produced by a neighbor that shares a commitment to a clean and healthy environment.”
The oil industry’s largest trade group in Washington, the American Petroleum Institute, applauded Thursday’s permit application as the next step in a process to renew the nation’s energy infrastructure.
“We applaud President Trump’s commitment to promoting our nation’s energy infrastructure and creating jobs and look forward to working with this administration on policies to continue our nation’s energy renaissance that’s providing benefits for American consumers and workers, and the environment,” said Jack Gerard, the group’s president and CEO.
“Today’s action to reapply for the Keystone XL Pipeline’s cross-border permit is an important step forward to building a 21st Century energy infrastructure system across our nation,” Gerard said.
Republican Sen. John Hoeven of large oil producer North Dakota welcomed the permit request, saying “President Trump’s invitation to reapply earlier this week and the company’s action today signals that our nation is ready to build the energy infrastructure we need.”
Hoeven added that not only will it create jobs and economic growth, but it will make “our country safer by helping us to be more energy secure.”
