TC Energy Files NAFTA Claim to Recover $15 Billion Following Keystone XL Cancelation

By Brad Kramer July 6, 2021 View Profile

TC Energy Corp. is seeking to recover more than $15 billion USD in damages as a result of the cancelation of the Keystone XL pipeline project.

The company announced July 2 that it has filed a Notice of Intent to initiate a legacy North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) claim under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to recover economic damages resulting from the revocation of the Keystone XL project’s Presidential Permit.

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TC Energy alleges that the U.S. Government breached its NAFTA obligations, and the company will be seeking to recover damages from President Joe Biden canceling the project’s permit on Jan. 20.

The Notice of Intent was filed with the U.S. Department of State, Office of the Legal Adviser.

TC Energy Corp. officially announced that the Keystone XL project had been terminated on June 9, following a comprehensive review of its options and in consultation with its partner, the Government of Alberta. Construction activities to advance the project were suspended following the revocation of its Presidential Permit.

RELATED: TC Energy Officially Cancels Keystone XL Pipeline Project

The Keystone Pipeline was first proposed in 2005. Construction of the first phase of the project began in the second quarter of 2008 and went into service in 2010, transporting crude oil from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Illinois and Texas, as well as to Cushing, Oklahoma.

The Keystone XL was a proposed 1,210-mile expansion of the Keystone Pipeline System that went into service in 2010. The expansion would have been capable of delivering 830,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Nebraska, where it would have connected with TC Energy’s existing facilities to reach U.S. Gulf Coast refiners to meet critical needs for transportation fuel and useful manufactured products. The pipeline project was expected to invest $8 billion USD into the North American economy.