Tillerson recuses himself from Keystone XL decisions

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced he will recuse himself from issues related to the application by TransCanada Corp for the Keystone XL Pipeline. AFP Photo by Nicholas Kamm. 

Trump in favor of Keystone XL Pipeline

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has recused himself from issues related to the application by TransCanada Corp for the Keystone XL Pipeline.

The announcement came in a letter from the State Department to Greenpeace on Thursday afternoon.

“He has not worked on that matter at the Department of State, and will play no role in the deliberations or ultimate resolution of TransCanada’s application,” said the letter from Katherine McManus, the State Department’s deputy legal adviser.

The letter was sent to the activist group after Greenpeace wrote to officials at the State Department and the Office of Government Ethics on Wednesday, recommending the former CEO of Exxon Mobil recuse himself from any decisions concerning the multi-billion dollar pipeline that would take Canadian oilsands crude to the United States.

In its letter, Greenpeace argued Exxon Mobil would “directly and predictably” benefit from the approval of the contentious pipeline because the oil major has investments in the Alberta oilsands.

McManus says Tillerson had recused himself from the matter in early February.

TransCanada’s Keystone XL Pipeline runs from the Hardisty, Alberta to refineries in Illinois and Texas, and also to oil tank farms and an oil pipeline distribution center in Cushing, Oklahoma.

In 2015, under President Obama, the application for the contentious pipeline was vetoed.

On January 24, 2017, President Trump signed a memoranda to advance the construction of both the Keystone XL Dakota Access pipelines.