Controversial oil pipeline project gets new life after stunning announcement — why it's causing concern

President Donald Trump wants to revive the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline, calling for an energy company to "get it built — now!" His call to fast-track the project for any interested company has reignited concerns among environmentalists and Indigenous groups, who have long opposed its construction.

What's happening?

In an impassioned social media post, Trump recently called for a redo of the long-defunct $9 billion Keystone XL Pipeline project. The president promised "easy approvals" and an "almost immediate start" for the project under his administration.

According to The Hill, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "The company building the Keystone XL Pipeline that was viciously jettisoned by the incompetent Biden Administration should come back to America, and get it built — NOW!...If not them, perhaps another Pipeline Company. We want the Keystone XL Pipeline built!"

First proposed in 2008, the Keystone XL Pipeline promised to transport 830,000 barrels of crude oil from Canada to U.S. refineries daily. Trump approved a permit for the 1,700-mile pipeline in 2017 during his first administration. As Reuters noted, environmentalists opposed the Keystone XL Pipeline for years before its permit was revoked by the Biden administration in 2021.

Trump's apparent interest in Canadian oil is a notable contradiction to his previous statements on such resources. As Bloomberg noted, President Trump has repeatedly said the U.S. doesn't need energy resources from Canada, when the pipeline's purpose would be to obtain oil from Canada.

Why are the Keystone XL Pipeline plans worrisome?

Environmentalists and Native American tribes spent years fighting the Keystone XL Pipeline, fearing it would increase carbon pollution, pose oil spill risks, and slow the transition to clean energy.

The pipeline would have transported oil from Canada's tar sands — naturally occurring deposits of sand and rock containing dense crude oil. Extracting this viscous oil is particularly energy-intensive, leading to heavy pollution before the oil is even refined into dirty fuel. It can also cause environmental damage to wildlife habitats, water sources, and complex ecosystems.

The pipeline would have crossed Indigenous lands in both the U.S. and Canada against those communities' objections.

These concerns remain as relevant today as in 2008 — and any statement promising an easy start to such a project is a direct threat to the surrounding environment and the eventual totals of carbon dioxide pollution in the atmosphere.

What's being done to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline?

TC Energy, the Canada-based company that worked on the Keystone XL Pipeline, now goes by South Bow Corporation. In a statement to Reuters, the company said it has "moved on" from the controversial project.

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As Bloomberg noted, some U.S. portions of the Keystone XL Pipeline were built years ago, mostly between 2017 and 2019. But those portions have since been dismantled. Key permits for the pipeline have also expired after years of inactivity. This makes simply restarting the project a major uphill challenge.

Politico, however, reported that South Bow and Texas-based Energy Transfer are currently gauging interest within the oil industry on a joint pipeline network running from Canada to the U.S. Though in very early stages, Politico characterized the network as a "riff" on the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Notably, U.S. relations with Canada are currently strained given Trump's trade policies, making cooperation on any proposed pipeline more complicated.

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