Former Dem senator: Obama will eventually green-light Keystone

A former Senate Democrat predicted Tuesday that President Obama will eventually approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline, and suggested that election-year politics are preventing the project from moving forward.

“In my judgment, this pipeline will be built. The question is when is the decision made,” former Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) said during an event hosted by the American Petroleum Institute, the powerful oil-industry group.

Dorgan said Obama punted a final decision on the pipeline because his liberal base, including environmental groups, opposes the project, which would carry oil sands crude from Alberta, Canada, to refineries on the Gulf Coast.

“I think we all understand that the president is reluctant to move forward because he has some supporters that are concerned about it,” he said.

“I think he’s going to make a decision later, rather than sooner,” Dorgan added, referring to Obama. “You can judge what I mean by that.”

Keystone enjoys bipartisan support in Dorgan's state. Sens. Kent Conrad (D) and John Hoeven (R) both back the pipeline, which is envisioned to carry oil from the Bakken formation in North Dakota, where production is booming.

Republicans have blasted the president for rejecting a key permit for the pipeline in January. But Obama said the decision was not based on the merits of the project, but on a 60-day, GOP-backed deadline included in legislation to extend the payroll tax credit.

Project developer TransCanada, at the administration’s urging, re-applied for the permit earlier this month. A final decision on the project is not expected until 2013, after the upcoming election.

The White House has denied that it has delayed a final decision for political reasons, arguing instead that it needs more time for proper review.