Keystone XL pipeline benefits ‘exaggerated’: Obama

US President Barack Obama told House Republicans on Wednesday he’s still evaluating the pros and cons of TransCanada’s (TSX,NYSE:TRP) proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline, reports The Associated Press.

At a closed-door meeting with the Republicans, Obama said job creation figures and other benefits highlighted by supporters are probably exaggerated, but he did not discard a decision favouring the pipeline, according to participants.

In the meantime, opponents to the project continue to voice their opinion, with even The New York Times urging Obama to reject it.

In a column, No to Keystone, yes to crazy, columnist Thomas Friedman says he hopes the President turns it down: “Who wants the US to facilitate the dirtiest extraction of the dirtiest crude from tar sands in Canada’s far north?,” he writes.