Nathan Bomey

USA TODAY

The company responsible for the Keystone XL oil pipeline said Friday that President Trump's administration signed off on the project, clearing a hurdle for a polarizing endeavor that has rankled environmentalists and inspired hope for jobs among supporters.

TransCanada, a large pipeline company based in Calgary, Alberta, with operations across the USA and Canada, said it received a presidential permit from the U.S. Department of State to build the project. The company said it would consequently withdraw a bankruptcy claim it filed through the North American Free Trade Agreement and end its legal fight over the constitutional nature of the Obama presidential administration's rejection of the project.

The authorization was widely expected after Trump repeatedly pledged during his campaign to expedite the project.

The approval is far from the last word on the project, which would involve construction of a 1,179-mile cross-border pipeline to transport oil from the province of Alberta to Nebraska.

TransCanada said it must "engage key stakeholders and neighbors throughout Nebraska, Montana and South Dakota to obtain the necessary permits and approvals to advance this project to construction."

Oil prices have dropped considerably over the past three years, making a new pipeline less lucrative.

The Trump administration's reversal of the rejection of the project in 2015 puts the initiative a step closer to reality. Trump officials authorized the project in two months after the Obama administration took more than six years to review it.

"This is a significant milestone for the Keystone XL project," TransCanada CEO Russ Girling said in a statement. "We greatly appreciate President Trump's administration for reviewing and approving this important initiative, and we look forward to working with them as we continue to invest in and strengthen North America's energy infrastructure."

Critics have argued that the oil pipeline could harm the environment and accelerate climate change. Supporters argued the USA needs the jobs associated with the pipeline's construction and criticized what they considered to be the Obama administration's overreach.

In January 2016, TransCanada initiated legal proceedings that involved filing a NAFTA claim in which it sought to claw back more than $15 billion in costs and damages after the pipeline's rejection.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.