Philadelphia - The realization of a controversial pipeline which should unite two allies of Northern America almost led to a political crisis between the United States and Canada when on January 15 the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, cancelled a trilateral summit of the United States, Canada and Mexico scheduled on the last week of February.
According to important international medias, the decision of PM Harper is tied to growing tensions with the President of the United States, Barack Obama, on the realization of the Keystone XL, a pipeline planed to carry crude sand oil from the Canadian state of Alberta to oil refineries of Texas, and furthermore to word markets.
The Keystone XL is a project planed by Trans Canada energy major in 2008. The pipeline is conceived to connect Alberta to Texas through Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Louisiana.
In several occasions, President Obama expressed his personal opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline, as when he stated, during a public speech on Holiday time, that the Keystone XL is a good pipeline for Canada's interest, but not for the United States one, as it would pump Canadian crude oil through the United States with no revenues for the American economy.
President Obama's opposition is shared by environmentalists, who are afraid that the realization of the Keystone XL would increase the use of oil and fossil fuels in an era in which the United States and other major world powers are committed to the reduction of greenhouse emissions.
However, the opposition of President Obama to the Keystone XL has weakened after Nebraska Supreme Court cleared the way to the realization of the Keystone XL by rejecting complaints of environmentalists that opposed the realization of the pipeline in Nebraska.
Obama, who said he would have considered Nebraska Supreme Court pronouncement prior to take a final decision on the Keystone XL, also faced a vote in favor of the realization of the Keystone XL by both houses of the republican-controlled Congress.
A pro-Keystone XL majority within the Congress of republicans and centrist democrats argue that the realization of the Keystone XL will ensure United States energy security, will create new job opportunities and will strengthen bilateral relations between the United States and Canada.
Members of the pro-Keystone XL coalition also believe that the commercialization of Canadian crude sand oil in world energy market is going to drop world energy prices and will also have a positive impact on American citizens.
On January 9, few hours after Nebraska Supreme Court's pronouncement, the House of Representatives passed a bill to bind President Obama to authorize the realization of the Keystone XL. On January 13, the Senate voted to start an open procedure to approve a bipartisan bill on the realization of the Keystone XL sponsored by a republican senator of North Dakota, John Hoeven, and democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
According to the Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, a republican of Kentucky, the open procedure to approve the Keystone XL bill, which requires the discussion of amendments during Senate's open sessions, should allow the pro-Keystone XL majority to gain a huge consensus of more than 67 votes in order to override a Presidential veto to the bill.
By his part, spokesmen of President Obama said that the President will eventually veto a bill that authorizes the realization of the Keystone XL pipeline, even after the pronouncement of Nebraska Supreme Court in favor of the realization of the pipeline.
The Presidential Administration of the United States also stated that the President is waiting for an official pronouncement on the Keystone XL by US State Department, which is expected to issue a decision on the controversial pipeline soon.
Harper wants to gain more support for the pipeline
The 6 year long indecision of President Obama on the Keystone XL has irritated the Canadian Government, which is pushing for the realization of a pipeline that would help Canadian energy companies to diversify and increase crude oil export.
However, according to several rumors, the postponement of the summit of political leaders of Canada, United States and Mexico is tied not only to frictions between Harper and Obama on the Keystone XL pipeline, but also to the willingness of the Canadian PM to call for early elections.
With an early election in Canada, PM Harper's Conservative Party, which is strongly lobbying for the Keystone XL both in Canada and in the United States, in partnership with United States republicans, is likely to gain an overwhelming electoral victory on New Democrats main opposition party.
Facing the opposition to the Keystone XL of President Obama and liberal democrats in the United States, Canadian New Democrats accused PM Harper and the Conservative Party to do little, and to do wrong, to lobby Canadian energy and national interest abroad.
Matteo Cazzulani
Analyst of Trans Atlantic, Central Eastern Europe and energy issues
@MatteoCazzulani
