U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris ruled on Thursday that enough has changed since the pipeline was first approved that new information should be considered, again delaying construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Trump had a terse comment when asked about the decision by the U.S. District Court: “It was a political decision made by a judge. I think it’s a disgrace,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
The ruling on the $8 billion, 1,180 miles (1,900 km) pipeline is a major setback for TransCanada, whose stock dropped 2 percent in Toronto while shares of Canadian oil producers Canadian Natural Resources Ltd and Cenovus Energy fell even harder, shedding 4 percent, according to Reuters.
The KXL pipeline would carry as much as 830,000 barrels of crude per day from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steel City, Nebreska., and on through a half-dozen states to refineries on the Gulf Coast. TransCanada Corp. spokesman Terry Cunha says the company has received the judge’s ruling and is reviewing it, reports the Financial Post.
Judge Morris ruled the U.S. State Department didn’t look closely enough at factors such as the project’s viability in the face of lower oil prices, new modeling of possible oil spills and ways to mitigate them, or at the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions.
The victors in the ruling are the environmentalists, tribal groups and ranchers who have spent over 10 years fighting against the construction of the pipeline. However, the ruling could not have come at a worse time for Canada’s oil industry. Already plagued with not enough pipeline capacity to move the heavy crude oil from Alberta’s oil sands, the industry has been suffering steep discounts in prices.
