Obama rejects Canada-to-U.S Keystone XL pipeline

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday rejected the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada in a victory for environmentalists who have campaigned against the project for more than seven years.

"The pipeline would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to our economy," Obama told a press conference. He said the pipeline would not reduce gasoline prices for drivers, and shipping "dirtier" crude from Canada would not increase U.S. energy security.

The denial of TransCanada Corp's more than 800,000 barrels per day project will make it more difficult for producers to develop the province of Alberta's oil sands. It could also put the United States in a stronger position for global climate talks in Paris that start late this month in which countries will aim to reach a deal to slow global warming.

Keystone XL would have linked existing pipeline networks in Canada and the United States to bring crude from Alberta and also some from North Dakota to refineries in Illinois and, eventually, the Gulf of Mexico coast.

TransCanada first sought the required presidential permit for the cross-border section in 2008 but the proposal inspired a wave of environmental activism that turned Keystone XL into a rallying cry to fight climate change. Blocking Keystone became a litmus test of the green movement's ability to hinder fossil fuel extraction in Canada's oil sands.