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Keystone XL to face legal hurdles

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- It is unlikely TransCanada will meet its 2013 goal for starting its Keystone XL oil pipeline because of an expected legal backlash, a bank said.

TransCanada wants to build the $7 billion pipeline carrying oil from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refiners along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Opponents to the project claim the environmental threat from Alberta crude outweighs the economic and energy benefits.

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Deutsche Bank said, even though the project is expected to get the nod from U.S. President Barack Obama and the U.S. State Department, it is unlikely the project will meet its 2013 launch target because of the controversy involved.

The bank was quoted by the Platts news service as saying that as soon as the pipeline gets federal approval, environmental groups will sue, causing significant delays.

"The takeaway is that construction completion by the end of 2013 may ultimately prove ambitious for Keystone XL, something that we've suspected from the beginning," Deutsche Bank was quoted as saying.

The section running from Oklahoma to Texas, the bank added, is likely to move ahead with few problems because those two states are seen as energy-friendly.

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The State Department needs to approve the project because it crosses national borders. In its review, the department said it didn't see major environmental issues with the pipeline.

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