Category: Pipelines

US President Barack Obama signs autographs after delivering the State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on January 20, 2015 at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Keystone XL, not mentioned by the president, looms large in rebuttals from his adversaries. Pool Photo by Mandel Ngan/UPI WASHINGTON, Jan. 21 (UPI) — While touting oil independence during his State of the Union, it was the one word missing from the address, Keystone, that drew criticism for President Obama . "Let’s set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline," is all the president said during his State of the Union address on a project at the center of the agenda for the newly-minted Republican-led Congress. At the start of the 114th Congress, Republican leaders placed Keystone XL at the top of its to-do list. The project meant formally to bring tar sands oil from Canada to […]

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Enbridge tapped to build pipeline system for Hess Corp. developments in the Gulf of Mexico. (UPI/Shutterstock/tcly) HOUSTON, Jan. 13 (UPI) — Midstream company Enbridge said it was working with its upstream partners at Hess Corp. to oversee pipeline developments from a Gulf of Mexico oil field. Enbridge said it will build, own and operate the $130 million project that will start in the deepwater Stampede project and terminate 16 miles away with a connection to a third-party pipeline system. "This project is an attractive investment opportunity for Enbridge and we are pleased to be working with Hess and the other producers on this development," Greg Harper, president of pipeline and processing systems for Enbridge, said in a Monday statement. Hess Corp. launched development plans for its deepwater Stampede project in the Gulf of Mexico in late October. The company said it expects to pull at most 80,000 barrels of […]

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Nebraska court, in default ruling, says law used to sanction state route of Keystone XL oil pipeline is valid. (courtesy TransCanada) OMAHA, Jan. 9 (UPI) — In a mixed decision, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Friday the legal premise used to sanction the route for Keystone XL was permissible. In a long awaited case on the route of the Keystone XL pipeline, the Nebraska Supreme Court cleared one of the remaining hurdles in a battle that began when TransCanada first applied to build the project more than six years ago. Lancaster County District Court Judge Stephanie Stacy in February ruled a state law granting power of eminent domain to former Gov. Dave Heineman was unconstitutional. State law LB 1161, passed in 2012, gave the governor authority over the Keystone XL route from Canada through the state instead of the Nebraska Public Service Commission. Environmental campaigners pressured pipeline planner TransCanada […]

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TransCanada Corp. (TRP) ’s Keystone XL pipeline faces one less hurdle after Nebraska ’s highest court cleared its path through the state, sending the matter back to Washington. The pipeline would funnel crude from Alberta’s oil sands to a network junction in southeast Nebraska, for transport to Gulf Coast refineries. While the ruling is a victory for energy independence proponents, the project’s fate remains uncertain. It now returns to President Barack Obama , who had put off a decision citing the pending lawsuit. Today, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would force approval of the pipeline. While four of the seven Nebraska Supreme Court judges held that they would block Keystone XL, five were needed to declare unconstitutional a law that allowed the governor to dictate its path. As a result, the route survived by default. Justice William Connolly, writing for the judges who wanted to block […]

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Alberta’s premier says he plans to visit Washington to make the case for the Keystone XL oil pipeline. UPI/Kevin Dietsch EDMONTON, Alberta, Jan. 7 (UPI) — Alberta’s premier said he was planning a trip to Washington to make the case that the Keystone XL oil pipeline is in the best interest of the region. "Alberta is committed to responsible energy development, which firmly positions us as a safe, secure and responsible energy supplier and we will continue to advocate on behalf of Keystone XL," Premier Jim Prentice said in a statement issued late Tuesday. Prentice served previously as the nation’s environment minister. As a minister, he said delays from Washington on the cross-border Keystone XL oil pipeline were regrettable, but should encourage the federal government to expand its export options to other markets like Asia. Republican leaders pushed legislation in favor of the pipeline to the top of their […]

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican senators kicked off the new U.S. Congress with legislation to approve the hotly disputed Keystone XL oil pipeline, but the White House promptly threatened a veto. With Republicans assuming full control of Congress on Tuesday after their victories in the November election, they have put Keystone at the center of their legislative agenda and plan weeks of debate. They believe that the public spotlight on the issue will pressure President Barack Obama to eventually approve the project. If Obama vetoes the initial legislation, backers will attach it to a wider measure he could find harder to reject, such as a must-pass spending bill or steps to improve energy efficiency. The White House was adamant that Obama would not sign the Keystone legislation. "There is already a well-established process in place to consider whether or not infrastructure projects like this are in the best interest of […]

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AP Photo/Susan Walsh Politics Video Buy AP Photo Reprints WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Tuesday threatened to veto the first piece of legislation introduced in the Republican-controlled Senate, a bill approving the much-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline, in what was expected to be the first of many confrontations over energy and environmental policy. Hours after supporters of the bipartisan bill, which is sponsored by all 54 Senate Republicans and six Democrats, announced its introduction, the White House said for the first time that President Barack Obama would veto it. "If this bill passes this Congress, the president wouldn’t sign" it, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Tuesday, saying legislation shouldn’t undermine the review process underway at the State Department or circumvent a pending lawsuit in Nebraska over its route. It’s "premature to evaluate the project before something as basic as the route of the pipeline has been […]

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President Barack Obama is likely to veto legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline. UPI/Kevin Dietsch WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (UPI) — A sign from the White House that bills meant to approve Keystone XL would be met with a veto is disappointing, the American Petroleum Institute said Tuesday. White House spokesman Josh Earnest affirmed signals from the president’s desk that Keystone XL might not get moved through normal vetting procedures despite a bill introduced Tuesday by the newly-minted GOP leadership on Capitol Hill. With Republican leaders taking their seat Tuesday for the first session of the 114th Congress, API President and Chief Executive Officer Jack Gerard rolled out the industry’s State of American Energy platform from Washington D.C. The agenda describes Keystone XL as "vital infrastructure" for the North American energy sector. Gerard said the project would support thousands of jobs, while bringing 830,000 barrels of oil per day across […]

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New York (Platts)–30Dec2014/259 pm EST/1959 GMT It may be too soon to assess the total impact of falling global crude oil prices on the US oil patch, but the lower price will likely slow the recent fast pace of pipeline buildouts and focus attention on regions where the production plays are most economic. Many oil industry analysts expect to see a slowdown in new midstream projects as production begins to wane, which is expected by the middle of 2015 as drilling slows and many of the hedges producers put in place to manage price risk expire. "In the midstream, in general, there will be some slowdown," said John Hill, CEO of First Reserve, a global private equity investment firm exclusively focused on energy. Reductions in producer capital spending point to slowed drilling going forward, he said. But he notes there will be an "awful lot of Bakken" coming online […]

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