WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The United States will study a new route for the Keystone XL Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline, U.S. officials said on Thursday, delaying any final approval beyond the 2012 election and sparing President Barack Obama a politically risky decision for now.
The delay was a victory for environmentalists who say oil sands crude development emits large amounts of greenhouse gases. It would deal a blow to companies developing Alberta's oil sands and to TransCanada Corp, which planned to build and operate the conduit.
Analysts have said a long delay could kill the $7 billion project because it would cause shippers and refiners to look for alternative routes to get Canadian oil sands crude.
It was not immediately clear what effect the decision -- which sources briefed on the matter said would delay any final approval for the $7 billion project by at least a year -- would have on U.S.-Canada relations.
The Keystone XL project is seen as the most important North American oil pipeline plan for several decades and was strongly championed by Canadian officials.
One source familiar with the matter said that studying a new route for the pipeline would likely take 12-18 months, putting a final decision after President Barack Obama's bid for reelection on November 6, 2012.
"It's a huge victory, and it would probably be the biggest environmental gift that President Barack Obama has given us," said Tony Iallonardo, a spokesman at the National Wildlife Federation.
Some of Obama's liberal supporters have strongly opposed the project and delaying a decision could allow Obama to avoid antagonizing environmentalists disillusioned with his progress on climate change.
However, the delay could also open up a line of attack on Obama ahead of the election, allowing Republicans to argue that a delay will deny the country thousands of jobs.
The State Department's inspector general said this week it would do a special review of the department's handling of the Keystone line after U.S. lawmakers pushed for a probe of alleged conflicts of interest over the project.
(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed, Timothy Gardner, Ayesha Rascoe; editing by Sandra Maler and Jackie Frank)
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