WASHINGTON, Rabi'I 17, 1436, Jan 8, 2015, SPA -- The U.S. Senate energy committee passed a bill on Thursday to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline and the legislation will head to debate in the full Senate next week, Reuters reported. The panel voted 13 to 9 to approve TransCanada Corp's pipeline that would bring Canadian oil sands petroleum to Texas refineries. All Republicans on the panel voted for the bill, as did one Democrat, Joe Manchin of West Virginia. President Barack Obama has threatened to veto the project, which has been pending for more than six years. -- SPA 21:04 LOCAL TIME 18:04 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w