On January 18th President Barrack Obama rejected TransCanada’s plan to build a $ 7 billion pipeline to supply Alberta crude oil to Texas refiners. For the moment the controversial pipeline project seems dead. But is the project simply playing possum to avoid being polked around during the highly charged US presidential campaign season? When President Obama decided to deny Keystone a permit, he was backed against a deadline established by Republicans and already taking fire from environmentalists and members of his own party that were lined up in opposition to the pipeline project. But it is less clear what is the Administration’s true stance is on the project. It’s well documented that key officials in the administration have expressed support for the project both as means to wean the country from overseas oil sources and for job creation. Further the rejection of the permit process puts the final decision on the pipeline into 2013, well past the Presidential elections. It appears, as of this writing, that TransCanada will reapply and submit an amended plan to reroute the pipeline around an environmentally sensitive aquifer in Nebraska. One alternative plan being touted is to build the US portion of the pipeline and apply for permission to connect to the Canadian segment at a later date.