WTF?

Shell wants out of Mackenzie pipeline project - North - CBC News

An odd development, to be sure. And my first response is... huh? Shell has been in the Mackenzie Delta for decades, and has invested billions of dollars in bringing product to market from there.

Shell's press release says that following a regular global portfolio review, they've decided to put their resources "elsewhere".

I'll admit to some pessimism in light of this announcement; it's the big guys with the large economies of scale (and large pieces of the integrated market) that stand to make the most money off this mega-project. It's hard to see this as anything less than a total lack of faith in the project as it's currently structured. I REALLY hope there's someone out there who wants this.

And I also really want to hear some reason to be optimistic over this.