Obama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline: Here's Who Loses

• President Barack Obama has rejected the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.
• Companies with the most to lose from the decision include Canadian pipeline companies, Canadian oil producers and U.S. refiners.
• WTI Crude oil is down more than 1.6 percent in Friday’s session.

In a Friday morning speech, President Obama officially rejected the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline. The proposed pipeline would have linked pipeline networks in Canada and the United States and opened the gates for 800,000 barrels per day of Canadian heavy crude oil and diluted bitumen to be pumped down to U.S. refineries in Illinois and the Gulf of Mexico.

The Controversy

Since its proposal back in 2008, Keystone became a major point of contention between environmentalists and the oil industry. Environmentalists saw the pipeline as disruptive to the local environment and another step in the wrong direction in the fight against global warming.

TransCanada Corporation (USA) TRP, who had hoped to construct the pipeline, had argued that Keystone would have increased North American energy independence, created thousands of construction jobs and helped alleviate the massive global crude oil glut that has sent oil prices plummeting from above $100/bbl to below $50 per barrel.

Oil Reacts

WTI crude oil, which was trading above $48/bbl on Wednesday, was down to below $44.50 on Friday following the news. The United States Oil Fund LP (ETF) USO was down nearly 2 percent in Friday’s session.

Biggest Losers

Shares of TransCanada and Canadian pipeline rival Enbridge Inc (USA) ENB were down more than 4.7 percent on Friday.

Other potential losers north of the border include Canadian oil producers Suncor Energy Inc. (USA) SU and Imperial Oil Limited (USA) IMO.

Further south, U.S. refiners such as Valero Energy Corporation VLO and Phillips 66 PSX will also be losing out on Canadian business in the wake of President Obama's decision.

Disclosure: the author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.