Biden's Keystone XL pipeline order costs hundreds more oil worker jobs
'It’s definitely not a good thing for the industry'
The Schork Group principal Stephen Schork says oil is now being 'bid out of inventory,' which is a sign of rising demand and therefore, stronger prices.
Workers at pipe manufacturer Berg Pipe are facing job losses following President Biden’s decision to rescind the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline.
One hundred six workers are facing layoffs, furloughs or a reduction of hours beginning in April. A number of temporary workers have already been let go.
The layoffs were first reported by NBC affiliate WPMI in Mobile, Alabama, and confirmed by FOX Business.
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KEYSTONE PIPELINE CANCELED, LET THE LAYOFFS BEGIN
“TC Energy asked us to cancel a portion of their order so we issued notices to our employees saying that if this order will not be produced then there will be layoffs,” said a Berg Pipe spokesperson.
Berg Pipe was awarded a “large order” by TC Energy in August to construct piping for the Keystone XL pipeline’s expansion. Production at Berg’s Panama City, Florida, plant has already been completed, meaning the impacted jobs are only at the company’s Mobile facility.
The contract was expected to keep hundreds of workers employed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The layoffs will impact a range of workers from those earning minimum wage to high-paying salaries.
BIDEN CLIMATE ACTIONS TO JOLT ELECTRICITY PRICES
"President Biden’s big-government mandates are already eliminating Alabama jobs and hampering our economy, and the Berg Pipeline is the latest example of this," said a spokesperson for Republican Rep. Jerry Carl, who represents Alabama's 1st congressional district where Berg Pipe's facilities are located.
Republican Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey "respectfully urges the White House to reconsider" its course of action, a spokesperson told FOX Business.
The Keystone XL pipeline, which was greenlighted by former President Donald Trump in March 2019, seeks to move up to 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta, Canada, to Steele City, Nebraska.
The revoking of the permit has already resulted in 1,000 layoffs at the Alberta, Canada-based TEC Energy. Another 10,000 Keystone pipeline jobs are in jeopardy. This week over a dozen Republican states’ attorneys general blasted Biden’s Keystone XL pipeline opposition in a joint letter.
Keystone XL may be just the beginning as Biden is facing increasing pressure to shut down more pipelines.
BIDEN CLIMATE ORDERS PUT WYOMING IN CROSSHAIRS
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn, earlier this month called on the president to withdraw the permit of the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline in Northern Minnesota. In addition, dozens of celebrities, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Scarlett Johansson, are calling for the Dakota Access pipeline to be shut down.
While Berg employees won’t be impacted if those pipelines are shut down, the Berg spokesperson told FOX Business its customers will be affected.
“It’s definitely not a good thing for the industry,” the spokesperson said.
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The cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline’s permit was part of a series of executive orders issued by Biden to “transition” the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels.
The president, just days into this administration, ordered the issuance of new permits and leases for oil and gas drilling on federal lands and waters to be halted and for the U.S. to rejoin the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement, among other things.
To contact the reporter on this story email jonathan.garber@foxnews.com.