Ex-Trump energy secretary reveals how long Keystone XL pipeline could take to finish

Former Trump Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette predicted the Keystone XL pipeline could be up and running in two years if the president’s floated plans to revive the project come to fruition.

“I think if you could eliminate the inefficiencies in the permitting process and, frankly, clean up some of the judicial activity around this particular project, you could probably do this in about two years,” Brouillette, who served as energy secretary from 2019 to 2021, told FOX Business’ Stuart Varney on Wednesday.

“It’s a massive project, but this industry is very, very good at what it does, and it could do this very efficiently.”

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However, a “whipsaw effect” in which one administration embraces the project and another shutters it, slows down financing for such projects, he added.

History showcased the challenge of firing up the pipeline when it began taking shape during Trump’s first term but was “jettisoned” in 2021 when former President Biden revoked TC Energy Corp.’s permit for the pipeline via executive order hours after his inauguration.

The company ultimately gave up on the project in June 2021 due to permit cancelations.

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Trump turned his attention to the project again on Monday, calling for the company behind its construction to “come back to America, and get it built — NOW!”

Construction on the Keystone XL Pipeline began in 2010 and was eventually halted by then-President Barack Obama before continuing during Trump’s first term.

The project was originally slated to be completed in early 2023 and would transport an additional 830,000 barrels of crude oil from Canada to the U.S.

Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.