The Keystone XL Pipeline’s developer is speaking out about the Biden administration’s shutdown of the project, and what he has said proves that the shutdown was sinister.
It’s not a surprise that gas prices have risen even higher because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but those prices were already skyrocketing prior to the war, and that was mostly the fault of the Biden administration’s policies. Even if Biden and his allies refuse to accept responsibility for their actions, the American people know the truth.
The historically-high gas prices have led Americans to call for the reopening of the Keystone XL Pipeline, which Joe Biden cancelled almost immediately after taking office, but those calls may be nothing more than a pipe dream.
Soaring gas prices raised hope that the Biden administration may revisit that decision to shut down the project. The belief that the project would restart gained even more traction on March 14th when Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said the financial hardship people were facing at the gas pump could be alleviated if the project was reopened.
“We could turn this around in less than a year,” he said. His comments came just as crude oil prices surged to almost $140 a barrel.
However, reopening the pipeline does not seem to be an option any longer.
TC Energy, the Canadian developer behind the Keystone XL Pipeline project, poured cold water on the possibility of it ever getting back up and running on March 15th, telling the Washington Examiner: “The Keystone XL pipeline project was terminated in June 2021 and will not proceed.”
Here is more from The Washington Examiner:
If Keystone XL were to restart, it would mean rehiring workers, buying back pricey equipment, setting up housing, dealing with environmentalists opposed to the drilling, and getting small businesses burned by Biden’s decision to agree to reinvest in virtual ghost towns.
Even if all of the obstacles were removed, it’s unlikely XL would do anything to ease the sticker shock many drivers currently see at the pumps.
The United States has slapped a list of sanctions on Russia in response to its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine but, until this week, had avoided targeting the country’s oil sector out of fear it would cause crude prices to spike. Biden’s announcement he would ban the import of Russian oil and gas did just that. However, the White House claims high gas prices are Russian President Vladimir Putin’s fault and could be brought down by gas companies should they choose to do so.
Russia is the world’s third-largest oil producer and is responsible for 10% of global supply, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data.
Republicans have called on Biden to increase domestic oil production.
“The challenge is that President Biden still won’t say ‘yes’ to American energy because to replace that Russian oil is the real critical step,” House Republican Whip Steve Scalise told the Wall Street Journal. “The answer is right below our feet.”
The president, though, showed no signs of reversing course.
“This crisis is a stark reminder [that] to protect our economy over the long term, we have to become energy independent,” Biden said. “Loosening environmental regulations or pulling back clean energy investment won’t lower energy prices for families.”
