President Donald Trump is expected to sign executive actions aimed at paving the way for more oil pipelines, as the White House moves to double fossil fuel production. Among those conversations is a proposal to allow construction of the long-defunct Keystone XL pipeline, according to multiple sources involved in the conversations.
The Trump team is expected to reauthorize a permit to operate the expanded pipeline, a largely symbolic move after the Biden White House canceled it four years ago, killing the project. But beyond the permit, discussions also focused on restarting construction by rerouting the pipeline to North Dakota rather than Montana. the state into which he was previously to enter from the Canadian province of Alberta.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who met with Trump last week at Mar-a-Lago, called the proposal “a proposal” currently being discussed between the two countries.
“We want to double (Canada’s) energy production and we want that to go to the United States,” Smith, speaking from Washington, where she is scheduled to attend inauguration festivities, told CNN about his message to Trump. “We have 450,000 kilometers of integrated pipelines in North America. »
A representative for Interior Secretary-designate Doug Burgum — the former North Dakota governor who would favor such a plan — did not respond to a request for comment.
Several energy lobbyists familiar with the discussions expressed skepticism that TransCanada Energy — the pipeline operator — would be interested in restarting the project after ending it when the Biden administration revoked its approvals.
North Dakota Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer told CNN the idea was probably a pipe dream. “TransCanada has put the problem to bed. They sell steel. Even talking about it, I think it sends mixed messages to their markets,” Cramer said. “So I think it’s not an option.”
Canadian oil already accounts for more than half of imported crude oil processed by U.S. refiners, according to EIA data. American refineries like Canadian tar sands oil because it is heavy and dirty; the same consistency of Latin American oil that the United States primarily imported – and that American refineries were designed to turn into gasoline.
In contrast, the United States primarily produces shale oil, which U.S. refineries are generally not suitable for refining. U.S. oil is primarily shipped overseas.
Canadian oil, which is thicker and more acidic, partly explains why environmental advocates have so fiercely opposed the Keystone XL pipeline. Advocates have argued that pipeline leaks are more likely with Canadian oil and that it is more difficult to clean up waterways.
Keystone XL was proposed in 2008 as an expansion of the existing Keystone Pipeline, which currently transports between 585,000 and 643,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta’s oil fields to the United States. Keystone is not the only pipeline carrying Canadian oil to the United States; the recent expansion of Canada’s Trans Mountain pipeline has tripled the capacity of that pipeline. As a result of this expansion, Canada exported a record number of barrels of oil to the United States in July 2024, at a rate of 4.3 million barrels per day, according to the EIA.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the amount of oil transported daily by the Keystone pipeline.