"It [the Keystone Pipeline XL] was never going to be the answer to lowering gas prices, because the oil that would be pumped through the Keystone Pipeline would go into the world market and that is what determines oil prices," President Obama stated, noting "I want to make sure that if in fact this project [Keystone Pipeline XL] goes forward, that it is not adding to the problem of climate change."
President Obama warned during the press conference that the pipeline project would impose "very serious costs on the American people," and will not lead to lowering gas prices that proponents of the project argue will help the United States.
The Canadian energy and infrastructure company TransCanada Corporation submitted an application to build the Keystone XL pipeline back in 2008. The proposal was voted on several times in the US Congress following its submission, but never received a final presidential approval.
The Keystone Pipeline System is currently stretching from Alberta, Canada to US refineries in Nebraska, Illinois, Texas and Oklahoma. The Keystone XL is its expansion, which is planned to carry heavy crude oil through America's heartland from Canada's tar sands.
However, thousands of environmentalists have been protesting in the United States against this 1,179-mile construction that will cost $8 billion, according to the recent TransCanada Corporation estimate.
