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Keystone Delays Fuel Push for Canada East Oil Pipeline

Delays by the U.S. in reviewing Keystone XL are helping build momentum for an oil pipeline to Canada ’s East Coast. TransCanada Corp. (TRP) , the company proposing the $5.4 billion conduit to connect Alberta ’s oil sands with U.S. Gulf Coast refiners, may have an easier path to approval with its alternative to the nation’s Atlantic Coast. The C$12 billion ($11 billion) Energy East would be North America ’s largest oil line, with capacity to ship 1.1 million barrels a day. “We view the Energy East project a step in the right direction,” Thomas Mulcair , leader of the federal New Democratic Party , said at the Bloomberg Canada Economic Summit yesterday in Toronto. The opposition leader prefers the project over Keystone because it would support Canadian “value-added” jobs by supplying refineries in Eastern Canada. While shipping oil-sands crude across the country to the port of Saint John, […]

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Stopping Keystone Ensures More Railroad Tank-Car Spills

The Keystone XL Pipeline got another nail in its coffin Monday, in the form of a Senate energy vote that excluded the pipeline issue. But Keystone was already near death thanks to the Obama’s administration’s recent decision to ignore the evidence of a definitive government study—and instead keep listening to environmentalists’ dubious claims. The upshot will be more political fires in Washington caused by train derailments in the absence of a pipeline to transport oil more safely. After the derailment in downtown Lynchburg, Va., on April 30, approximately 30,000 gallons of Bakken crude oil burned or spilled into the James River. On May 9, a derailment north of Denver spilled another 6,500 gallons of oil, which was contained in a ditch before reaching the South Platte River. Fortunately, unlike in the 2013 derailment in Quebec where a 1.3 million-gallon spill killed 47 people and incinerated 30 buildings, no one […]

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Senate Squabble on Energy Policy Looks Likely to Stop Pipeline Vote

A tug of war in the Senate over energy policy and procedure looked likely to derail a vote on the Keystone XL pipeline that had been sought by Republicans and some Democrats from energy states. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) had indicated last week that he would bring to the floor a measure approving construction of the controversial pipeline as part of a deal tied to passing a bipartisan energy-efficiency bill. But prospects for a Keystone vote receded Wednesday after Mr. Reid said he wouldn’t allow any further amendments to the energy bill, angering Republicans, who are now expected to block the energy bill from advancing in the chamber. The retreat from holding a vote on a stand-alone Keystone bill, which would bypass an executive order from the Obama administration and force approval of the pipeline, isn’t a clear-cut victory for either party. Sen. Mary Landrieu , […]

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Keystone XL bill backed by Big Oil, group says

U.S. senators who drafted legislation in support of the Keystone XL oil pipeline received $21 million from the oil industry, an advocacy group says. U.S. Sens. John Hoeven , R-N.D., and Mary Landrieu , D-La., chairwoman of the Senate Energy Committee, introduced legislation that would immediately authorize pipeline company TransCanada’s application to build Keystone XL. Oil Change International, an advocacy group opposed to Keystone XL, said Hoeven and Landrieu received campaign support from the oil industry. It said Thursday its review of campaign contributions finds the nine Democratic senators who joined the entire rank of Senate Republicans in co-sponsoring the bill received an average $375,000 each in "dirty energy money." TransCanada submitted an application to the U.S. federal government to build the pipeline across the U.S.-Canadian border. A decision on the application is pending because of legal issues over the pipeline’s route through Nebraska. […]

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Wooing of Senators to Force Keystone Seen Falling Short

Keystone XL supporters are falling short in their efforts to round up the Democratic votes in the Senate to bypass the White House and approve the Canada-to-U.S. oil pipeline. A bipartisan bill was introduced yesterday that would circumvent President Barack Obama by issuing a permit allowing construction. The move came after his administration delayed a decision on the $5.4 billion project, possibly into next year, citing a legal challenge to the route it would take through Nebraska. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , a Nevada Democrat who opposes the pipeline, told reporters yesterday that there is a “75 to 80 percent chance” that a vote on a standalone Keystone bill will be allowed. That might seem like good news for pipeline supporters, but Democratic leaders are convinced they could defeat a binding measure to force a permit for the pipeline, said a Democratic leadership aide who spoke on condition […]

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TransCanada Sees Job Cuts With Keystone Build Delayed

TransCanada Corp. (TRP) doesn’t expect to start building its proposed $5.4 billion Keystone XL pipeline this year, resulting in hundreds of job losses as construction contracts are wound down. The company has pushed the timetable to start building the northern leg of the project, intended to transport crude from Alberta ’s oil sands to Gulf Coast refiners, to 2015 after the Obama administration delayed a decision because of a legal challenge in Nebraska . TransCanada is still targeting startup of the line in 2016, Chief Executive Officer Russ Girling said today. “There will be several hundred that will be impacted by this decision, both employees and contractors,” Girling told reporters at the company’s annual meeting in Calgary. “At this point in time, there’s a very low probability that we would have a decision in time to meet this year’s summer construction period.” The State Department, which is leading an […]

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Senate Likely to Vote Soon on Keystone Approval, Democrats Say

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday he was prepared to bring a measure approving the Keystone XL pipeline to the Senate floor, despite the Obama administration’s reluctance to decide its fate during an election year. Supporters were still searching for the handful of votes needed for such a bill to pass the Senate, but they were energized by the prospect of a floor vote. The Republican-controlled House strongly supports the pipeline. The administration two weeks ago said it was extending a State Department review of the proposed TransCanada Corp. pipeline—first proposed in 2008—because of litigation related to the project in Nebraska. Mr. Reid’s comments reflect the Democrats’ calculus that a Keystone vote could provide a boost to vulnerable Democrats running for re-election in conservative-leaning states who must hold their seats for the party to retain control of the chamber in November’s midterm elections. But it also would expose […]

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Pipeline Supporters Seek Quick Senate Vote

Supporters of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline are seeking a swift Senate vote on legislation to approve construction of the project that environmentalists oppose strongly and the Obama administration has delayed indefinitely. Pipeline advocates in the Senate, who include several Democrats on the November election as well as Republicans, hold a clear majority. They also may command more than the 60 votes needed to overcome blocking tactics by opponents, but they appear to be short of the two-thirds majority that would be needed in the 100-member chamber to override any veto by President Barack Obama. "I will press hard for a vote in the coming weeks to build this pipeline," Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Democrat and the chair of the Senate Energy Committee, said this week in a statement as lawmakers returned from a two-week break. Landrieu and Sen. Mark Begich, […]

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Obama Keystone Choice Pits Donors Against At-Risk Senate

President Barack Obama ’s advisers are lining up against the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline. Top Democratic donors oppose the project. And Obama himself dismisses claims that it will create many jobs. Yet there’s still one big obstacle to the president saying no to Keystone: election-year politics. If Obama rejects the pipeline, it might sink Democratic candidates in states with big energy industries, such as Louisiana and Alaska . That could cost Democrats control of the Senate — a risk that’s likely to weigh heavily on any decision the president makes, to approve the pipeline, reject it or wait until […]

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Keystone XL pipeline’s strategic worth debated

A former White House official said the Keystone XL pipeline could be a strategic asset, though Sierra Club’s director said it’s not worth the climate threats. The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee heard testimony Thursday over whether or not the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada is in the national interest. Proposed more than five years ago by pipeline company TransCanada, the project has become the scapegoat for debates over U.S. energy policy. James Jones , a retired Marine general who served as national security adviser to President Obama , told the Senate approving Keystone XL would rival "international bullies" who are using energy as a weapon. With geopolitical tensions in Ukraine tied to Russia’s influence over Eastern European energy markets, Jones said denying Keystone would help the Kremlin’s position. "There is no doubt in my mind that the outcome [of the Keystone […]

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Keystone XL pipeline's strategic worth debated

A former White House official said the Keystone XL pipeline could be a strategic asset, though Sierra Club’s director said it’s not worth the climate threats. The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee heard testimony Thursday over whether or not the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada is in the national interest. Proposed more than five years ago by pipeline company TransCanada, the project has become the scapegoat for debates over U.S. energy policy. James Jones , a retired Marine general who served as national security adviser to President Obama , told the Senate approving Keystone XL would rival "international bullies" who are using energy as a weapon. With geopolitical tensions in Ukraine tied to Russia’s influence over Eastern European energy markets, Jones said denying Keystone would help the Kremlin’s position. "There is no doubt in my mind that the outcome [of the Keystone […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Harper Sees Keystone Approval, With or Without Obama

As far as Stephen Harper is concerned, history and economics carry far more weight in Canada-U.S. relations than whoever happens to occupy the White House at a given moment. That’s why Canada ’s prime minister remains relatively unperturbed about the drawn-out Keystone XL pipeline review, maintaining its approval is “inevitable.” In a wide-ranging interview on energy policy in his Ottawa office last month, Harper described how historical and economic forces and broad-based support for resource development determine whether projects like Keystone get built, rather than short-term political calculations. If Barack Obama doesn’t approve the pipeline, another president will. “It is, in my judgment, a necessary and inevitable victory,” Harper said in a Jan. 16 interview as he awaited a State Department environmental assessment of the project. “I absolutely believe that. I can’t see how it will be otherwise.” Moving Crude Through the […]

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TransCanada’s U.S. oil pipeline set for January service

Oil should be moving through the 485-mile Gulf Coast oil pipeline from Oklahoma by the middle of January, a spokesman for TransCanada said Wednesday. The Gulf Coast project from the oil storage hub in Cushing, Okla., is designed to carry as much as 700,000 barrels per day to refineries in the Houston area. TransCanada spokesman Shawn Howard said customers can expect oil deliveries by Jan. 22. "This is another important milestone for TransCanada, our shippers and the refiners on the U.S. Gulf Coast who have been waiting for this product to arrive," he was quoted as saying by The Oklahoman , a newspaper based in Oklahoma City. "Providing this notice gives our customers time to ensure that they have the appropriate volumes of oil to move into our system when the pipeline is ready to go into full commercial operation." The Gulf Coast […]

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TransCanada's U.S. oil pipeline set for January service

Oil should be moving through the 485-mile Gulf Coast oil pipeline from Oklahoma by the middle of January, a spokesman for TransCanada said Wednesday. The Gulf Coast project from the oil storage hub in Cushing, Okla., is designed to carry as much as 700,000 barrels per day to refineries in the Houston area. TransCanada spokesman Shawn Howard said customers can expect oil deliveries by Jan. 22. "This is another important milestone for TransCanada, our shippers and the refiners on the U.S. Gulf Coast who have been waiting for this product to arrive," he was quoted as saying by The Oklahoman , a newspaper based in Oklahoma City. "Providing this notice gives our customers time to ensure that they have the appropriate volumes of oil to move into our system when the pipeline is ready to go into full commercial operation." The Gulf Coast […]

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Keystone Backed in Poll by 56% of Americans as Energy Security

More Americans view the Keystone XL oil pipeline as a benefit to U.S. energy security than as an environmental risk, even as they say Canada should do more to reduce greenhouse gases in exchange for approval of the project. A Bloomberg National Poll shows support for the $5.4 billion link between Alberta ’s oil sands and U.S. Gulf Coast refineries remains strong, with 56 percent of respondents viewing it as a chance to reduce dependence on oil imports from less reliable trading partners. That compares with the 35 percent who say they see it more as a potential source of damaging oil spills and harmful greenhouse gas emissions. A push by environmental groups against the project may be affecting public opinion: 58 percent of poll respondents say they want Canada to take steps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions as a condition for approval, with 32 percent opposing such a […]

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US pipeline conversions, gas flow reversals raise safety concerns

In the rush to accommodate shifting US natural gas supply patterns, there are worries that pipeline safety could get short shrift in companies’ plans to reverse flows or switch to oil and liquids transportation, particularly as federal standards do not specifically address such changes, observers say. “We’re in the era of multi-billion-dollar projects,” Richard Kuprewicz, president of pipeline safety consultant Accufacts, told this week’s Pipeline Safety Trust annual meeting in New Orleans. And that can lead to what he calls the “Space Shuttle syndrome,” in which the “pressure to launch can overcome safety considerations.” “Pipelines are undergoing a fundamental rebalancing” in North America as large volumes of shale gas come online, he said. And converting an older gas pipeline to a new purpose, such as carrying natural gas liquids from the Marcellus Shale south to the Gulf Coast or reversing the flow […]

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Texas town evacuated after Chevron pipeline explosion

HOUSTON (Reuters) – A pipeline operated by Chevron Corp exploded in rural Milford, Texas, on Thursday and while no injuries were reported residents of the town of 700 were asked to evacuate, said company and emergency officials. Chevron did not identify the line, but it is the majority owner of a 2,295-mile common-carrier pipeline system that transports natural gas liquids from New Mexico and Texas to Mont Belvieu, Texas for processing. Atlas Pipeline Partners has a 20 percent interest in the West Texas LPG Pipeline Limited Partnership, which is 80 percent owned by Chevron. Tom Hemrick, director of Hill County Emergency Management, told KTVT-TV in Dallas that a construction crew accidentally drilled into a 10-inch liquified petroleum gas (LPG) line. All workers on the construction crew were accounted for. "The fire is definitely getting smaller," Hemrick said. Another 14-inch line sits a few feet from the one that exploded […]

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Redford sees rail problems entering the Keystone XL debate

Some US officials raised greenhouse gas concerns as increasing amounts of Alberta’s heavy crude oil move by rail while approval of the Keystone XL pipeline’s cross-border permit continues to be delayed, Premier Allison Redford said after concluding her fifth Washington visit to lobby for the project. “A lot of that product is being transported by rail at the moment, and that is something that is receiving quite a bit of attention in the United States, partly because we know that transportation by rail leads to higher greenhouse gas emissions than a pipeline would,” The Financial Post reported Redford as saying. The premier met with officials at the US Department of State , which is expected to conclude its environmental impact statement early in 2014 on TransCanada Corp.’s revised application for a cross-border permit, as well as US Senate and House leaders. The proposed 1,179-mile pipeline would move diluted bitumen […]

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