Urgent: Obama rejects controversial Keystone XL pipeline project

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday rejected the proposed Keystone XL pipeline project that would bring Canada's oil sands to refineries in the United States.

"The State Department has decided that a Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the national interest of the United States. I agree with that decision," Obama said at the White House, adding that the project would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to the U.S. economy and lower gasoline prices.

The 8-billion-U.S. dollar Keystone XL project is proposed to go from Canada through the U.S. states of Montana and South Dakota to Nebraska, where it would connect with existing pipelines to carry more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil a day to refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The project has been delayed for years as Democrats and environmental groups say it could worsen climate change by enabling further growth of oil sands exploitation which would creat higher greenhouse gas emissions than some other forms of production. But Republicans insist that it will create jobs and enhance U.S. energy security. Endite