Canada Delivering Keystone XL Pipes To U.S.

As the U.S. State Department proceeds with a special review of the Obama administration's handling of TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline proposal, pipes for the project are already being delivered south of the border.

Truckloads of pipe from Canada are arriving daily in Gascoyne, N.D., where they are being stockpiled, Radio-Canada reporter Marc Godbout reported Monday.

A Radio-Canada video shows trucks carrying pipeline sections . Gascoyne is just across the state line from Baker, Mon., one of six states through which the 2,736-kilometre pipeline would run.

Radio-Canada attempted to speak with the Canadian supplier of the pipeline sections and with TransCanada. Both firms declined the request for on-camera interviews.

On Wednesday, a TransCanada pipeline spokesman confirmed the pipe yard is in preparation for Keystone XL, adding that such yards are located "throughout the U.S. and part of Canada." The company said it could not name the companies producing the pipe due to confidentiality agreements.

U.S. President Barack Obama said late last month that no decision had been made on the controversial project that would carry Alberta oilsands crude to Texas refineries. The proposed pipeline has drawn protests from environmentalists on both sides of the border.

U.S. politicians called for the special review to investigate allegations that a company that performed an environmental assessment of the Keystone XL project on behalf of the U.S. State Department had listed TransCanada as a "major client."