Royal Dutch Shell has lost $5 billion so far in 2015, TransCanada Corp. is staring at a $2-billion write-off following the U.S. rejection of its Keystone XL pipeline, and Baker Hughes said it took a 43% hit to earnings compared to last year, a measurement almost identical to the decline of North American oil-rig drilling over the same time.
President Obama’s Nov. 6 announcement that the State Dept. would not allow the Keystone XL pipeline to be built is a blow to contractors and construction unions that had strongly advocated for the project.
Legislation to authorize the beginning of construction on the $3.3-billion Keystone XL pipeline has cleared the House and Senate. But project advocates' victory may be short-lived: President Obama has vowed to veto the bill when it reaches his desk.
The House has approved a measure to authorize building the Keystone XL pipeline, but the 270-152 vote fell short of the two-thirds majority required to override a promised presidential veto.
The Senate has approved legislation authorizing construction to begin on the controversial and long-delayed $3.3-billion Keystone XL oil-pipeline project. The Senate passed the bill on Jan. 29 by a 62-36 vote.
The controversial $3.3-billion Keystone XL pipeline has cleared two more hurdles, with a Nebraska court victory and House passage of a bill authorizing the project's construction, but the White House says its threat to veto the pipeline legislation still stands.
