Tag Archives: petroleum

The Effect of President Obama’s Keystone XL Veto

President Obama officially vetoed the Keystone XL pipeline project after bipartisan votes by both the House and Senate landed the bill on his desk. Without the Senate to block legislation from getting to his desk, the president is now planning to veto many bills that pass both houses. Veto-proof coalitions are now needed to pass legislation that provides benefits like the Keystone XL project.

The entire Keystone pipeline system is almost complete, the fourth and final phase of the system is known as Keystone XL. The Keystone XL Pipeline is a proposed 1,179-mile (1,897 km), 36-inch-diameter crude oil pipeline beginning in Hardisty, Alberta and extending south to Steele City, Nebraska. This pipeline is a critical infrastructure project for the energy security of the United States and for strengthening the American economy. The Keystone XL pipeline would have the capacity to transport 830,000 barrels of oil per day to Gulf Coast and Midwest refineries.

Approving the estimated $5.3 billion Keystone XL project would create approximately 9,000 construction jobs. When combined with the southern portion of the Keystone pipeline (the Gulf Coast Project), it is estimated that the total $7 billion pipeline could:

  • Create 13,000 construction and 7,000 manufacturing jobs.
  • Add $20 billion to U.S. GDP.
  • Add $5 billion in taxes revenue to local counties.
  • Generate as much as $5.2 billion in property tax revenue for Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Texas collectively.
  • Over 2.6 million miles of pipeline in the United States that deliver both liquid petroleum products and natural gas, while the Keystone XL portion of the Keystone pipeline is less than 1,200 miles long.
  • The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association predicts that pipeline projects are worth $1.298 trillion dollars to the Canadian economy and $15.52 billion dollars in additional salaries to its citizens.
  • The U.S. State Department reported an increase of 42,000 jobs during the construction process, and roughly 118,000 jobs to maintain the pipeline and the refineries.
  • 70 percent of petroleum and crude oil are currently shipped by pipeline, which in recent years has proven to be safer than shipping oil by rail.

A recent study by the Fraser Institute affirms their safety by reporting pipeline accidents are a staggering 30 times less harmful than by train. According to a study by Southern Methodist University’s Maguire Energy Institute, there are substantial economic benefits with the TransCanada Keystone Pipeline System.

The United States’ State Department issued a multi-thousand page report which took years of research, compilation and coordination to produce which concluded definitively that the Keystone pipeline would be safe ― it would have “no significant impacts.”

EPA Raises a Stink over Sulfer Restrictions for the Oil Industry

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently issued rules to cut the sulfur content of gasoline by 67% and to significantly reduce tailpipe emissions in cars and pickups, starting with the 2017 models. These new rules are known as “Tier 3 standards.” They are designed to reduce the smog created from tailpipe emissions and the subsequent incidence of various lung diseases.

Not surprisingly, both the WSJ and the New York Times (NYT) reports that federal adoption of these stricter Tier 3 standards found broad based support among many environmental and health groups. The Natural Resources Defense Council said the Tier 3 standards could save America $19 billion a year in health-related costs by 2030. The American Lung Association said that Tier 3 standards will reduce pollution equivalent to taking 33 million cars off the road.

Continue reading EPA Raises a Stink over Sulfer Restrictions for the Oil Industry

The American Energy Renaissance Act

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) recently proposed legislation that would harness America’s abundant energy reserves, not only supplying much-needed energy, but also spurring economic growth. This bill, named the American Energy Renaissance Act, is a two part plan with several steps that would halt harmful regulations and barriers to trade and development and expand energy exploration and infrastructure development.

This bill would leave the regulation of hydraulic fracturing in the hands of the states. It would also allow the states to lease, permit, and regulate energy resources on federal lands within their borders. A key provision in this bill develops energy infrastructure by approving the Keystone XL pipeline, and other national and cross-border pipelines, to be built by the private sector. It would open for energy development federal lands such as the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and the Coastal Plain of Alaska (ANWR). Finally, it would expand liquefied natural gas exports by facilitating permits and would also end the crude oil export ban.

Senator Cruz’s bill was inspired by the economic boom spurred by the oil and gas industry in North Dakota where the average hourly wage in the industry is $45.90 an hour. The state’s unemployment rate has fallen to 2.6 percent. Allowing the rest of the nation to follow suit would create jobs in the private sector, decrease unemployment, increase national revenue, and give America energy self-sufficiency.

Keystone XL Good to Go, But Wait…

In an article by Rich Lowry of the National Review this week, a new Department of State review of the New Keystone XL Pipeline Application concludes that the pipeline poses no environmental hazard, among other evidence, and supports the construction of the pipeline. Unlike the Alberta Clipper pipeline project, Keystone XL had become the focus of harsh attacks from fringe groups that caught the attention of the White House. Even though Keystone XL would add 800,000 barrels a day to our refineries, strengthen our strategic resources and give an economic boost; the final authorization for the pipeline may never happen — we will just have to wait and see.