U.S. President–Elect Donald Trump plans to revive the cancelled and contentious Keystone XL pipeline — it is said. Joe Biden cancelled the project on his first day in office.Good for Trump, but it's going to take more than signatures and press conferences to resuscitate the almost 2,000 km Canada–to–Nebraska crude oil pipeline — now an industrial cadaver laying on the slab of broken dreams.While there's pipe in the ground on the Canadian side up to the 49th parallel, materials, equipment and hardware on the U.S. side may be liquidated — said a Western Standard insider. Environmental permits have expired.Courts in Montana that were a problem before, could be a problem again even if Trump yards out an economic defibrillator to shock the lifeless TC Energy owned project, which was conceived 17 years ago. Taxpayers own the debt, so Premier Danielle Smith will initiate CPR, delivering compressions and injecting diplomatic adrenaline. Unfortunately, the protocols of cardiovascular life support apply to failed industrial projects like Keystone XL — restoring rhythm to a flatlined heart is extremely difficult. Not even Energy Minister Brian Jean, Canada's top natural resource interventionist, can resurrect the dead.There is a scintilla of hope for the project, however. Start from scratch with new corporate entities, good lawyers and fresh leadership in Ottawa. Also, now that TMX is pumping oil to Canada's west coast, there may not be sufficient production to fill Keystone XL at 800,000 barrels per day, said an insider. New oil sands mines are needed. Production must ramp up.
