Burgum responds to Biden revoking permit for Keystone XL pipeline

Devils Lake Journal

BISMARCK – As newly elected President Joe Biden begins his plans of action in office, which includes a crackdown on fossil fuels including the hault of the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

The Canadian company behind the Keystone XL oil pipeline has said it has suspended work on the pipeline. The 1,700-mile pipeline would carry roughly 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast, passing through Montana, South and North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.

Gov. Doug Burgum released the following statement after President Joe Biden revoked the permit for the pipeline saying, “For decades, a primary policy goal of every presidential administration has been to put America in a position to sell energy to our friends and allies versus buy it from our enemies."

North Dakota Governor Douglas James Burgum

Burgum said that finally achieving this policy of U.S. energy independence in recent years due to American innovation and entrepreneurship has led to low energy prices that help working families keep more money in their pockets as well as a resurgence in American manufacturing jobs and this was not the time to abandon this essential strategy.

This March 11, 2020 photo provided by the Bureau of Land Management shows the proposed route of the Keystone XL oil pipeline where it crosses into the U.S. from Canada in Phillips County, Montana. A Canadian company said Monday, April 6, 2020, that it's started construction on the long-stalled Keystone XL oil sands pipeline across the U.S.-Canada border, despite calls from tribal leaders and environmentalists to delay the $8 billion project amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Al Nash/Bureau of Land Management via AP)

“In North Dakota, we’ve experienced first-hand how major modern pipeline infrastructure and an all-of-the-above energy strategy can create high-paying jobs, strengthen the economy, move product to market in the safest and most efficient manner, and advance U.S. energy independence, "he said. "The Keystone XL pipeline accomplishes all of these goals, and revoking the permit is wrong for the country and has a chilling effect on private-sector investment in much-needed infrastructure projects, which is why we urge the President to reconsider."

Burgum said the state was ready to work with the new administration on developing policies that support our state’s priorities, and would continue to oppose policies that harm North Dakotans, especially our energy and agricultural producers.

K. William Boyer is the Managing Editor of the Devils Lake News Journal. He can be reached at kboyer@gannett.com, or by phone at (701) 662-2127. Follow him on Twitter, @KWBOYER_DLJ.