Obama urges Congress to aim higher than Keystone pipeline

US President Barack Obama has urged Congress to set its sights higher than a single oil pipeline, as the country looks to upgrade its infrastructure.

Obama did not refer to the Keystone XL pipeline by name in his remarks about oil and natural gas in the 2015 State of the Union address.

The president has the authority to reject the pipeline, which is proposed to carry about 830,000 b/d of Canadian and Bakken crude to the US Gulf Coast.

The project, which is presently being reviewed by the State Department, is subject to approval from the US Secretary of State John Kerry.

The US Senate is currently considering a bill that will enable the pipeline to bypass the presidential permit approval process and greenlight it as soon as possible.

The American Petroleum Institute said: "The private sector could invest more than $1 trillion in oil and gas infrastructure here in the U.S. by 2025.

"But, as we’ve seen with the political delays over the Keystone XL pipeline, our government is often the biggest obstacle to private investment in our economy. The government is standing in the way of jobs, economic growth, and America’s competitiveness."

The Keystone XL pipeline project is a proposed 1,897km crude oil pipeline, starting in Hardisty, Alberta, and extending south to Steele City, Nebraska.

It will transport crude oil from Canada and support the growth of crude oil production in the US from producers in the Bakken region of Montana and North Dakota.