US decision on Keystone XL appears unlikely for several months

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is unlikely to make a decision on the Canada to Nebraska Keystone XL pipeline until late this year as it painstakingly weighs the project's impact on the environment and on energy security, Reuters reported, citing a US official and analyst.

The decision may not be made until November, December or even early 2014, said the unidentified US official, as President Barack Obama won't rush the process, which still has a number of stages to work through, Reuters reported.

One of those stages hasn't even begun yet and will run for months, the report said.

"The president has to be able to show that the administration looked under every stone to ensure it knew as much as it possibly could about the impact of Keystone," said the official, according to Reuters.

Dow Jones Newswires