By Rod Nickel and Valerie Volcovici
WINNIPEG, Manitoba/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – TC Energy Corp will eliminate more than 1,000 construction jobs in coming weeks and halt work on the Keystone XL oil pipeline after U.S. President Joe Biden revoked the project’s presidential permit, the company said in an email to employees.
The line was already under construction in Canada. It would have carried 830,000 barrels of oil per day through the United States to Nebraska.
Calgary-based TC Energy separately confirmed the authenticity of the email, sent by KXL President Richard Prior on Wednesday and seen by Reuters.
Prior, in his email, said they will start to shut down construction at U.S. pump station sites and the Canadian portion of the project in coming weeks.
“I believe this will send a concerning signal to infrastructure developers that resonates far beyond our project and will stifle innovation for a practical transition towards sustainable energy,” he said in the letter.
During the U.S. campaign, Biden had committed to canceling the project, which has been in development since 2008. Former President Donald Trump approved a permit for the line in 2017 shortly after taking office, but the line afterward faced numerous legal challenges that hampered construction.
(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici in Washington and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
