WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department will recommend approval of the Keystone XL pipeline on Friday, senior U.S. officials said, clearing the way for construction to start on the long-delayed project that has served as a flashpoint in the debate about climate change.
Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon will make a recommendation that the pipeline serves U.S. national interests on Friday, two senior officials said. The Trump administration had given the federal government until next Monday to complete a review of the pipeline.
President Barack Obama rejected the pipeline in 2015 after a negative recommendation from then-Secretary of State John Kerry.
The pipeline will still require a presidential permit, but the State Department's recommendation has represented the last significant hold-up. President Donald Trump has been a vocal supporter of Keystone, saying it will create American jobs. Final approval of the permit will be formally announced later Friday at the White House, said the officials, who weren't authorized to comment publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity.
When it rejected the pipeline, the Obama administration had argued it would undercut U.S. efforts to clinch a global climate change deal that was reached weeks later in Paris. Kerry's recommendation against the permit came after lengthy State Department reviews, and it's unclear what justification the agency will now use to explain the change of position.
The 1,700-mile pipeline, as envisioned, would carry oil from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to Houston-area refineries, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. Environmental groups objected to the pipeline's route and argued it would encourage the use of dirty sources of energy that contribute to global warming.
In one of his first acts as president, Trump invited pipeline company TransCanada to resubmit the application to construct and operate the pipeline. The Trump administration has made fighting climate change no longer a priority, leaving open the possibility of pulling out of the Paris deal.
Its recommendation for Keystone marks a clear victory for oil industry advocates, who argue the pipeline will create jobs and improve U.S. energy security. Both of those arguments are disputed by the pipeline's opponents. They say new jobs will be minimal and short-lived, and argue the pipeline won't help the U.S. with its energy needs because the oil is destined for export.
Shannon, the State Department's top career diplomat, is making the recommendation because Secretary of State Rex Tillerson recused himself from the matter. Tillerson is the former CEO of oil company Exxon Mobil, and environmental groups and others had argued it would be a conflict of interest for Tillerson to weigh in on the pipeline's fate.
TransCanada, the company seeking to build the pipeline, first applied for a permit in 2008.