On May 25, 2020, TC Energy (previously named TransCanada) announced completion of the 1.4-mile segment of the Keystone XL Pipeline crossing the U.S. border from Canada into Montana. The border crossing was authorized under a 2019 Presidential Permit issued by President Trump, superseding a prior Presidential Permit issued by the U.S. State Department in 2017. Although TC Energy was able to construct this cross-border segment, a federal court decision on April 15, 2020, vacated and remanded the pipeline’s permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to cross waterways and wetlands in the United States. The decision effectively blocks construction of other pipeline segments, pending further Corps action or successful judicial appeal. An overall decline in oil imports from Canada due to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) also has reduced demand for oil pipeline transportation, at least temporarily. Notwithstanding these setbacks, TC Energy expects to eventually receive all necessary approvals and intends to construct the entire pipeline by 2023.
Source: Keystone XL Pipeline: Permit Issues and Recent Developments