Alberta’s energy minister said the province is working to address concerns that caused a U.S. federal court judge to block the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline project this week.
Marg McCuaig-Boyd called the decision frustrating – but not enough to stop efforts to get the $10-billion project pushed through – in a Friday news conference at the legislature.
“We’re going to continue to keep going, we knew there’d be setbacks in this project and we’ve been addressing them as they come,” she said.
Indigenous and environmental groups had sued Calgary-based energy giant TransCanada and the U.S. Department of State after Nebraska authorities approved an alternative route to the one TransCanada had proposed through the state.
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The proposed 1,897-kilometre pipeline would carry crude from Hardisty, Alta., to Steel City, Neb.
McCuaig-Boyd estimated that Canada is missing out on $80 million a day due to Alberta oil producers being forced to sell at discount prices.
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The same reasoning has been said by Alberta Premier Rachel Notley in her fight for the Edmonton-to-Burnaby Trans Mountain pipeline twinning project, which is in limbo as the National Energy Board undergoes further consultations with the public.
– With a file from The Canadian Press
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ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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