OREANDA-NEWS. August 08, 2017. Hearings for TransCanada's long-delayed 830,000 b/d Keystone XL pipeline began today in Lincoln, Nebraska, with opponents questioning whether the state should issue a permit before the company makes a final investment decision (FID) on the project.

Nebraska should not "hand out authorizations" while people decide on whether to use them, said attorney David Domina, who is representing a group of landowners opposed to the pipeline.

Domina aggressively questioned a TransCanada official at the hearing before the Nebraska Public Service Commission, which is reviewing a new application for a route for Keystone XL through the state. The permit is the last major regulatory hurdle for the project.

If the commission approves the application, TransCanada could later "sell the route" to another party if they decide not to build the line, Domina said.

TransCanada senior vice president Tony Palmer initially said he could not answer whether the company would consider selling the route. But in testimony later in the day, Palmer said that TransCanada is committed to building the line and has spent nine years pursuing that goal. "We don't consider selling the route an option," he said.

TransCanada said on 28 July that it will make an FID on Keystone XL in the "November-December time frame" after the Nebraska process and after further negotiations with shippers.

The company is holding an open season through 28 September to find more customers for Keystone XL and for its existing 590,000 b/d Keystone pipeline.

Keystone XL would transport crude from Alberta's oil sands to Steele City, Nebraska, which is already linked to the storage hub at Cushing and the southeast Texas coast.

In the hearing today, Palmer was questioned by Domina in a sometimes tense exchange which included questions about the relationship between the many TransCanada corporate entities.

Palmer said that Keystone XL would only carry grades of crude, not gasoline, water or jet fuel.