TC Energy seeks more than $15 bln in damages from U.S. over Keystone XL

July 2 (Reuters) - TC Energy Corp (TRP.TO) is seeking more than $15 billion in damages from the U.S. government over the cancellation of its Keystone XL (KXL) project, the Canadian pipeline operator said on Friday.

The company earlier this month officially canceled the $9 billion project after U.S. President Joe Biden revoked a key permit needed to build it on his first day in office in January.

TC Energy said on Friday it had filed a notice of intent to begin a legacy North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) claim under the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement.

The project, which was planned to carry 830,000 barrels of heavy crude per day across the border from Alberta in Canada to Nebraska, had been delayed for over a decade following opposition from U.S. landowners, Native American tribes and environmentalists.

The company had booked a C$2.2 billion ($1.79 billion)impairment charge to its first-quarter results in May related to the suspension of construction on the project.

($1 = 1.2321 Canadian dollars)

Reporting by Shariq Khan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.