Alberta Premier Alison Redford weighed into the debate over Keystone XL Wednesday and promptly backed out of the public conversation over delays in the U.S. government’s review of the proposed oil pipeline.
At a news conference to introduce former Calgary mayor Dave Bronconnier as a trade envoy in Washington, Redford was asked about the hold up in the review for Keystone after the State Department said this week it will investigate the review process for the 700,000 barrel a day pipeline.
“What we need to be doing is keeping a watchful eye on the file and making sure, where we can, to be advocating on behalf of the province,” Redford said of potential delays. “but any further comment speculating whether it is two months or 16 months or 18 months is not helpful.”
Reuters news agency reported Wednesday that the State Department is considering rerouting the $7 billion pipeline proposed by TransCanada Corp. to avoid ecologically sensitive areas of Nebraska. TransCanada has said its route is the best option and rerouting could add a two to three-year delay.
Bronconnier and Redford, who travel to New York and Washington next week, stressed a regulatory review is the responsibility of U.S. authorities and they will lobby for Alberta’s major economic asset - oil Keystone will carry from the oilsands to refineries on the U.S Gulf Coast – at the political level.
“Our job in Alberta is to take an oil and gas supply and make sure the critical infrastructure that is necessary is built to get our product to market,” said Bronconnier, who accepted a nine-month posting in Washington on behalf of the province.
