After more than a decade of planning and perseverance, shovels are in the ground on the Alberta segment of the Keystone XL pipeline. 

Almost 12 years after TC Energy first proposed the project, thousands of local workers, including engineers, welders, heavy equipment operators, labourers, teamsters, safety inspectors, Indigenous monitors and other skilled tradespeople, are lacing up their work boots near Oyen and beginning construction on the Alberta spread of the 1,947-kilometre pipeline.

Keystone XL will safely and reliably deliver up to 830,000 barrels per day of western Canadian crude oil from Hardisty to Steele City, Neb., where it will connect with existing facilities to reach U.S. Gulf Coast refiners to meet critical needs for transportation fuel and other life-enhancing products. Our province’s $1.5 billion equity stake in Keystone XL will enhance and protect the value of our natural resources, to the benefit of all Albertans.

The project will see about 2,000 construction workers hired in Alberta over the next two years, spurring thousands of additional jobs and increased economic activity in associated trades, retail, and hospitality services along the construction route. Overall, the project will contribute about $2.4 billion to Canada’s GDP and will generate more than $7 million in property taxes in the first year in service. It’s estimated the project will generate $30 billion in tax and royalty revenues for current and future generations of Albertans.

Quick facts
269 kilometres of pipeline will be constructed and commissioned in Alberta over the next three years.  Keystone XL is expected to be complete and operational in 2023.