President-elect Donald Trump is planning to revive the Keystone XL oil pipeline on day one of his new administration, people familiar with his plan told Politico.
President Joe Biden rescinded Trump's 2017 approval of the pipeline on his first day in office in January 2021, citing concerns that burning oil sands crude would worsen "climate change." Critics have blamed Biden's "war on energy" for contributing to the skyrocketing price of energy and everyday goods.
The 1,200-mile Canada-to-Nebraska project would have moved up to 830,000 barrels (35 million gallons) of crude oil daily. After Biden canceled the permit in 2021, TC Energy, the company behind the pipeline, announced it would no longer continue construction.
François Poirier, the CEO of TC Energy, celebrated Trump's reelection, saying the former president "understands" the importance of energy and "energy security."
"[Trump] is very focused on affordability. He understands the role that energy plays, and energy security, on the international stage," Poirier said this week. "Having the free flow of energy between the three countries in North America is very important. And having more supply of oil and gas from Canada will help contribute to lower prices in the U.S."
During his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris in September, Trump slammed Biden’s decision to void the Keystone XL permit, which cost Americans thousands of jobs.
"Why does Biden go in and kill the Keystone [XL] pipeline and approve the single biggest deal that Russia’s ever made, Nord Stream 2, the biggest pipeline anywhere in the world going to Germany and all over Europe?" Trump said. "Because they’re weak and they’re ineffective."
Ex-Keystone pipeline workers in 2022 said that reviving the project would bring down the price of "everything."
"Put us to work right now. And you will see not only the fuel prices go down, but you will see the price of everything else go down with it," one worker said.
Parts of the pipeline have been dug up since Biden canceled the permit, so replacing those materials would require any company that wants to rebuild it to attain new permits for the project, Politico reported.