New Keystone XL route offered through Neb.

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LINCOLN, Neb., April 18 (UPI) -- TransCanada Wednesday submitted a new route through Nebraska for its stalled Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Fox News reported TransCanada offered its new plan to the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. Details of the new route were not reported.

The project, which is to carry oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast, was halted in January when U.S. President Barack Obama, upon the recommendation of the State Department, issued an executive order. TransCanada's original route would have taken the pipeline through environmentally sensitive areas.

The new plan will be reviewed by Nebraska officials. Federal approval is still required, however, and TransCanada could submit a new proposal covering the entire length of the pipeline to the State Department for its review, Fox News said.

The Keystone XL pipeline has become a flashpoint in the current presidential campaign, with Republicans hammering on it as an example of Obama blocking the creation of jobs and contributing to higher gas prices by refusing to go along with a project that would help decrease U.S. reliance on oil from overseas.

The Obama administration has stressed the need to confirm the pipeline will meet environmental standards.