Keystone

Rex Energy Corp. has agreed to sell its 60% stake in water distribution subsidiary Keystone Clearwater Solutions LLC in a deal expected to net the company $66 million.

Rex Energy Corp. has agreed to sell its 60% stake in water distribution subsidiary Keystone Clearwater Solutions LLC in a deal expected to net the company $66 million.

President Obama vetoed a bill authorizing construction of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline on Tuesday, following through on his threat to do so shortly after Republicans secured control of both chambers of Congress.

Developments over the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline continued on Friday, after the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that a law granting Gov. Dave Heineman the power to approve the pipeline’s route through the state could stand.

The first day of GOP control of the U.S. Senate started off on a testy note Tuesday after a pair of lawmakers introduced a bill to approve construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline and President Obama promised to veto it.

Following the one-vote failure of the Keystone XL Pipeline in the U.S. Senate, TransCanada Corp. CEO Russ Girling said Wednesday his company is in for the duration to overcome the high hurdles that still exist for the proposed $7 billion, 1,700-mile pipeline project from Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico.

The controversial TransCanada Corp. Keystone XL Pipeline project failed passage in the U.S. Senate late Tuesday, gaining a 59-41 favorable vote, but falling one vote short of a required 60 ayes. Earlier, the House had passed its version of the bill giving the green light to the project, which has been stalled by the Obama administration for several years.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is raising “environmental objections” to the State Department’s draft environmental impact statement for the northern portion of the $7 billion, 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline that would carry Canadian crude to Cushing, OK. Sponsor TransCanada Corp. had no comment. A southern portion, not requiring a federal review, is under construction between Cushing to the Gulf Coast.

Opponents of TransCanada Corp.’s proposed northern portion of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada running through parts of Nebraska argued last Thursday in state district court in Lancaster County that Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman lacked the authority to approve a proposed route for the project. In January, he approved a new alternative route (see Shale Daily, Jan. 23). Opponents of the project want Heineman’s decision voided by a district court judge because they allege a state pipeline siting act passed last year by Nebraska’s legislature is unconstitutional. The legislation gave the governor the ultimate decision on the route. At the end of last year Lancaster County District Judge Stephanie Stacy rejected the state’s attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed.