WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US administration will continue the Keystone XL pipeline review process, while preparing a response on TransCanada’s request to pause its permit application evaluation, US State Department spokesperson Elizabeth Trudeau said on Tuesday.
"We have received the letter [from TransCanada], we will issue a response, but we are going to continue our review,” Trudeau said in a briefing.
On Monday, TransCanada announced it wants to put on hold its request to the US administration to approve the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
The controversial pipeline, which is supposed to pump oil from Alberta, Canada to the US Gulf Coast, has been languishing for years.
Earnest noted that US President Barack Obama still plans to make a final decision on the construction of the pipeline before the end of his presidency.
In February, Obama vetoed the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which was expected to bring some additional 830,000 barrels of oil per day to US refineries from Canada.
