Josh Lopez
On Monday, the company asked to postpone consideration of the construction of the pipeline in a letter to John Kerry. The project is estimated at $ 8 billion. TransCanada notes they are waiting for the results of an independent evaluation in Nebraska.
Keystone XL is planned to stretch from Canada to the Gulf Coast through Texas. TransCanada previously requested the Commission of Nebraska Community Services to appoint a new route for the pipeline. Since this issue is being solved, the company requested that the State Department did not consider the problem with Keystone XL construction.
Earlier, US President Barack Obama said that the Keystone XL project can be approved only after the State Department completes its environmental review. In this regard, Head of state vetoed a bill passed by the US Congress in support of this initiative in February this year.
- If you think that you will get a negative answer, it is better to wait, - said Kevin Book, managing director of the consulting agency Clearview Energy Partners LLC. - An interesting point is that the very sponsor requires a delay, not the administration is trying to postpone the adoption of a politically difficult decision.
Keystone XL pipeline has become one of the most controversial issues during the presidency of Barack Obama. The issue has also become a key point of the pre-election debate.
Postponement of consideration for the pipeline construction will allow Obama to improve relations with Justin Trudeau, who will take over as Prime Minister of Canada this week.
Keystone XL
Keystone XL has to pump oil from Canada to refineries in Houston and Port Arthur, Texas. It was supposed to pierce six American states: Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
The pipeline length of 2,735 th. km is the only way to get to the main transport hubs of the Gulf of Mexico. It simultaneously allows expanding the geography of oil export from tar deposits in Canada and the USA to meet the needs for raw materials.
Currently 96.8% of Canada's oil exports account for the United States.
The stumbling block was part of the pipeline in Nebraska. A pipe, laid in the first phase of Keystone construction, already runs through this state. However, it does not reach the Gulf of Mexico, and does not affect the aquifer, important for environmental protection.
Future decision
Although Trudeau supports the construction of the pipeline, he also notes that the restoration of relations with the United States is one of the key objectives of Canada’s foreign policy.
Trudeau will hold a meeting with Obama at the end of this month during the G-20 summit in Turkey. He stressed that his country needs to improve environmental performance to promote projects like Keystone.
Proponents point out that its implementation will help to create new jobs.
Arguments in favor of Keystone XL
The main argument in favor of the pipeline is that the US economy is still very much dependent on oil.
Currently, about 36% of US oil imports accounts for Canada.
Moreover, if the construction is blocked, the railway will be overloaded. This type of transport is more dangerous and emergency, which can lead to large-scale oil spills.
Keystone XL project will create many jobs. According to the US State Department, in the two years of construction in some way will be involved 42 thousand people, including 35 permanent jobs and 3.9 thousand temporary jobs, employed in construction.
The project will add up $ 3.4 billion, or about 0.02% of US GDP in the state’s economy.
On the other hand, representatives of democratic parties and organizations for environment protection point out that this project will stimulate production at oil sands, which will accelerate climate change.
Analysts noted that TransCanada would be more likely to get the approval of their project, if the government was by a Republican President.
For example, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton said that it is necessary to impose a ban on the project implementation.
Currently, the US State Department is discussing the letter of TransCanada. However, no formal comments have been received to date.
What about Nebraska?
In September, TransCanada, serving operator of the project, addressed to the Commission of Public Services of Nebraska, performs the role of local independent regulator, to approve a new route for the pipeline.
- I note that last year, when a portion of the pipeline route in Nebraska arose questions, the State Department considered it possible to suspend consideration of the (draft), until the dispute is resolved. We believe that such a suspension would also be appropriate under the current circumstances," – said the company president Russ Girling.
The company notes that they are trying to prove the benefits of this project to the US authorities.
Critics of the project have repeatedly criticized the Canadian company on working not through an agency but the state government.
During the delay, the company expects to agree the pipeline route with the authorities of the US state of Nebraska. Currently solution is held by legal problems. TransCanada expects that the resolution of the issue will take from seven months to a year.
On Monday, White House representative said that US President Barack Obama will make a decision regarding the construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline until the end of his term in January 2017. He did not ruled out that the decision will have been made this year.
Economy vs Environment
From the outset, many environmental organizations expressed serious concern about the project, since it provides transportation of extremely dirty raw materials, mined in oil sands in Alberta, Canada, through the territory of the United States.
According to them, in order to avoid climate change, it is necessary to stop or reduce production of fossil fuels and to move quickly to other sources.
A special place in this case is taken by Canadian oil sands. They require a lot of energy for production, so theoretically, their development should influence the climate stronger than conventional development fields.
If we consider the whole cycle, greenhouse gas emissions from such oil are 17% more than the average from oil used in the United States.
There are also concerns related to a possible oil spill at Keystone XL. Under certain conditions, oil from oil sands may cause active corrosion. In particular, in 2010 in Michigan, oil from a similar pipeline got into a river.
In turn, TransCanada assures the safety with new technologies to combat leaks, including 16 th. sensors, which allows to block a leak within 15 minutes. However, the State Department study shows that these sensors can detect only large damages.
source: nytimes.com, usatoday.com
Keystone XL is planned to stretch from Canada to the Gulf Coast through Texas. TransCanada previously requested the Commission of Nebraska Community Services to appoint a new route for the pipeline. Since this issue is being solved, the company requested that the State Department did not consider the problem with Keystone XL construction.
Earlier, US President Barack Obama said that the Keystone XL project can be approved only after the State Department completes its environmental review. In this regard, Head of state vetoed a bill passed by the US Congress in support of this initiative in February this year.
- If you think that you will get a negative answer, it is better to wait, - said Kevin Book, managing director of the consulting agency Clearview Energy Partners LLC. - An interesting point is that the very sponsor requires a delay, not the administration is trying to postpone the adoption of a politically difficult decision.
Keystone XL pipeline has become one of the most controversial issues during the presidency of Barack Obama. The issue has also become a key point of the pre-election debate.
Postponement of consideration for the pipeline construction will allow Obama to improve relations with Justin Trudeau, who will take over as Prime Minister of Canada this week.
Keystone XL
Keystone XL has to pump oil from Canada to refineries in Houston and Port Arthur, Texas. It was supposed to pierce six American states: Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
The pipeline length of 2,735 th. km is the only way to get to the main transport hubs of the Gulf of Mexico. It simultaneously allows expanding the geography of oil export from tar deposits in Canada and the USA to meet the needs for raw materials.
Currently 96.8% of Canada's oil exports account for the United States.
The stumbling block was part of the pipeline in Nebraska. A pipe, laid in the first phase of Keystone construction, already runs through this state. However, it does not reach the Gulf of Mexico, and does not affect the aquifer, important for environmental protection.
Future decision
Although Trudeau supports the construction of the pipeline, he also notes that the restoration of relations with the United States is one of the key objectives of Canada’s foreign policy.
Trudeau will hold a meeting with Obama at the end of this month during the G-20 summit in Turkey. He stressed that his country needs to improve environmental performance to promote projects like Keystone.
Proponents point out that its implementation will help to create new jobs.
Arguments in favor of Keystone XL
The main argument in favor of the pipeline is that the US economy is still very much dependent on oil.
Currently, about 36% of US oil imports accounts for Canada.
Moreover, if the construction is blocked, the railway will be overloaded. This type of transport is more dangerous and emergency, which can lead to large-scale oil spills.
Keystone XL project will create many jobs. According to the US State Department, in the two years of construction in some way will be involved 42 thousand people, including 35 permanent jobs and 3.9 thousand temporary jobs, employed in construction.
The project will add up $ 3.4 billion, or about 0.02% of US GDP in the state’s economy.
On the other hand, representatives of democratic parties and organizations for environment protection point out that this project will stimulate production at oil sands, which will accelerate climate change.
Analysts noted that TransCanada would be more likely to get the approval of their project, if the government was by a Republican President.
For example, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton said that it is necessary to impose a ban on the project implementation.
Currently, the US State Department is discussing the letter of TransCanada. However, no formal comments have been received to date.
What about Nebraska?
In September, TransCanada, serving operator of the project, addressed to the Commission of Public Services of Nebraska, performs the role of local independent regulator, to approve a new route for the pipeline.
- I note that last year, when a portion of the pipeline route in Nebraska arose questions, the State Department considered it possible to suspend consideration of the (draft), until the dispute is resolved. We believe that such a suspension would also be appropriate under the current circumstances," – said the company president Russ Girling.
The company notes that they are trying to prove the benefits of this project to the US authorities.
Critics of the project have repeatedly criticized the Canadian company on working not through an agency but the state government.
During the delay, the company expects to agree the pipeline route with the authorities of the US state of Nebraska. Currently solution is held by legal problems. TransCanada expects that the resolution of the issue will take from seven months to a year.
On Monday, White House representative said that US President Barack Obama will make a decision regarding the construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline until the end of his term in January 2017. He did not ruled out that the decision will have been made this year.
Economy vs Environment
From the outset, many environmental organizations expressed serious concern about the project, since it provides transportation of extremely dirty raw materials, mined in oil sands in Alberta, Canada, through the territory of the United States.
According to them, in order to avoid climate change, it is necessary to stop or reduce production of fossil fuels and to move quickly to other sources.
A special place in this case is taken by Canadian oil sands. They require a lot of energy for production, so theoretically, their development should influence the climate stronger than conventional development fields.
If we consider the whole cycle, greenhouse gas emissions from such oil are 17% more than the average from oil used in the United States.
There are also concerns related to a possible oil spill at Keystone XL. Under certain conditions, oil from oil sands may cause active corrosion. In particular, in 2010 in Michigan, oil from a similar pipeline got into a river.
In turn, TransCanada assures the safety with new technologies to combat leaks, including 16 th. sensors, which allows to block a leak within 15 minutes. However, the State Department study shows that these sensors can detect only large damages.
source: nytimes.com, usatoday.com
