Rigzone reports that “for the last seven-plus years, TransCanada Corp. executives have racked up frequent flyer points and probably worn out several dress shoes trying to convince Americans to get onboard with their proposed Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline. Various iterations of the route have been bandied about between politicians, engineers and business leaders. Town halls have cropped up throughout the mid-continent. And harsh words have been exchanged in the news and likely in closed-door meetings.”  

“And yet almost a decade later, barrels of Canada’s heavy oil sands have made their way to the Gulf Coast by hook or by crook – or, more often by rail or by truck – and the KXL remains in limbo.”  

“Keystone had actually faded from the public eye until recently when Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton said she opposed it. That was followed by the ouster of Canada’s pro-Keystone Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the election of Justin Trudeau , whose support for the project reaches the echelons of Alberta, where most of the oil sands exist.”