The attorney generals of 16 states have written to President Biden urging him to bring back to life the Keystone XL pipeline project in order to facilitate the import of more Canadian crude.
Noting media reports that the United States wanted to boost its intake of Canadian crude, the attorneys general, led by Alaska's Treg Taylor, said that this was exactly the purpose for which the Keystone XL pipeline was being built.
They then went on to call on the White House to reverse its stance on the project and allow construction to be completed.
"Clear the administrative path for the pipeline's development, rescind your revocation of Keystone XL's 2019 Presidential Permit, and provide regulatory certainty to companies willing to build this vital, arterial pipeline," the attorneys general wrote in their letter. "Recent events have made it strikingly obvious that more domestic energy development is needed to prevent future economic hardship for Americans."
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused the President of vilifying the oil industry and said the resumption of the Keystone XL project would create jobs and reduce the effects of Biden's policies on the economy.
"The President's decision to vilify American fossil fuel companies while desperately reaching out to foreign leaders for oil shows the hypocrisy of this administration's promotion of policies that undermine U.S. energy independence," Paxton said in a news release on the letter.
"The Keystone Pipeline would bring jobs, revenue, and greatly reduce the devastating economic impact of President Biden's policies that have forced Americans to brace themselves for continued high energy costs and inflation."
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen didn't spare the White House his criticism, either, calling on the President to stop burdening the industry with excessive regulations that would only lead to higher energy costs for Americans.
"[...] your ill-considered, day-one decision to nix this pipeline has produced farreaching consequences. It set a dangerous precedent for future permits and projects that would enhance our nation's energy security and independence," the authors of the letter wrote.
"Your vitriolic language and vilification of the American fossil fuel industries while holding out your hand to the despotic foreign leaders whose interests directly conflict with American values has undoubtedly depressed American energy development both on- and off-shore," they added, demanding that Keystone XL resume construction.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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Irina is a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing on the oil and gas industry. More
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