U.S. Court Lifts Order Blocking Keystone XL Pipeline Work

(Reuters) - TC Energy Corp's long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline took a small step forward this week after a U.S. court overturned an injunction that barred certain work on the project, the company said.

The company, which also reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday, has been working for more than a decade to build the controversy-ridden 830,000 bpd pipeline.

KXL would run from an oil hub at Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Nebraska, where it would join TC Energy's existing Keystone pipeline system.

TC Energy, formerly TransCanada Corp, said an injunction barring some pre-construction activities related to the pipeline was dissolved by an appellate court on Monday.

TC Energy still has hurdles to jump before it can build the pipeline. It faces a pending Nebraska Supreme Court decision related to the pipeline's route and a lawsuit by two Native American communities in Montana.

The Nebraska Supreme Court is expected to make a decision in the third quarter, TC Energy said.

The company said in May that it would not make any major capital commitments until it has a clear path to construction, and therefore has not made a final investment decision to proceed with the project.

In 2017, TC Energy scrapped plans for the C$12 billion ($9 billion) cross-country Energy East project from Alberta to Canada's Atlantic Coast because of mounting regulatory hurdles.

The company also expects a decision from the British Columbia Supreme Court to extend an injunction on its Coastal GasLink pipeline in the third quarter.

Last week, Canada's National Energy Board said the 670-kilometer (416-mile) natural gas pipeline to supply the LNG Canada project in northern British Columbia was not subject to federal regulation.

Earnings from TC Energy's liquids pipelines rose about 39% in the second quarter, primarily due to higher volumes on the Keystone pipeline system.

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