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The new U.S. president signed an order on Tuesday that allowed
TransCanada to reapply for a permit for Keystone XL, after it
was rejected in 2015 by then-President Barack Obama on
environmental concerns.
TransCanada Chief Executive Russ Girling said the firm was
"diligently" preparing its application for the 1,179-mile (1,900
km) pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta, across the U.S. border to
Steele City, Nebraska.
Girling said he believes the project remains attractive for
shippers, given that it will supply the popular Gulf Coast
market.
"But we haven't engaged in direct conversation on that issue,"
he said at an investors conference. "This wasn't in our planning
horizon in the middle of last year, so we've only just
re-engaged with our shippers again."
Analysts and traders said the C$8 billion ($6.1 billion)
pipeline was far from being a certainty.
Since it has been proposed nearly a decade ago, TransCanada has
lost some initial support from shippers during its arduous
approval process, said a Canadian crude trader familiar with the
pipeline contract who declined to be identified due to a lack of
authorization to speak to the media.
The pipeline has faced fierce opposition over environmental
concerns and still needs to get approval from the state of
Nebraska.
TransCanada late Wednesday did not immediately respond to a
request for comment about the shippers' commitment to the
project.
If operational, Keystone XL would bring more than 800,000
barrels per day of heavy crude from Canada, which holds the
world's third-largest crude reserves but lacks the
infrastructure to move it easily.
The project has received regulatory approval and government
backing in Canada.
(Writing and additional reporting by Ethan Lou in Calgary,
Alberta, and Catherine Ngai in New York; Editing by Sandra Maler
and Randy Fabi)
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