LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – A Canadian pipeline developer that wants to run an oil line through U.S. six states says delaying the project beyond its expected start date would cost the company $1 million a day.
Robert Jones is a TransCanada vice president overseeing the hotly contested Keystone XL pipeline project. Jones says in a statement given in response to a federal lawsuit that delays would damage the company’s relationship with shippers and threaten its ability to recover money.
TransCanada says it’s already spent $1.7 billion on the $7 billion Keystone XL, which would carry crude oil from Alberta to Texas Gulf Coast refineries. The State Department has jurisdiction over the pipeline because it crosses an international border. Officials say they hope to approve or deny a permit for the project by year’s end.