The new Joe Biden administration said Jan. 20 it will issue an executive order revoking the permit for the long-delayed Keystone XL heavy crude oil pipeline as expected.

The executive order would serve as a potentially fatal blow to the $8 billion Keystone XL project that was designed to move 830,000 b/d of heavy Canadian crude ultimately to Texas through the entire Keystone system.

The Biden announcement, made on the first day of his presidency, said the pipeline project does not “serve the US national interest.” The permit revocation is listed among the top priorities for “tackling climate change” and “advancing environmental justice,” alongside rejoining the Paris climate accord and placing a temporary moratorium on oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The Keystone XL project, which became the epicenter of the environmental and fossil fuel fight for much of the past decade, was killed by the Obama administration and promptly resuscitated by outgoing President Donald Trump. But court rulings and regulatory holdups kept TC Energy’s pipeline project from progressing beyond the point of cancelation, and Biden has long pledged to revoke the presidential permit.

However, it is possible the project could be revived again if Republicans take back the White House in four years, especially since construction is largely completed on the Canadian side of the border.

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