What Are the Pros of the Keystone Pipeline?
- The Keystone Pipeline can be a major job creation project. The US State Department has estimated that the...
- The Keystone Pipeline can be a major economic contributor. It is believed that the Keystone XL pipeline has the...
- It would re-establish the Alberta oil sands sector for Canada. The oil price slump from...
Full Answer
What would be the dangers of the Keystone Pipeline?
The Keystone XL pipeline would carry 900,000 barrels of dirty tar sands oil into the United States daily. The water used to extract the oil from the tar sands becomes a danger to people, animals, and the surrounding land. The process produces toxic by-products including bitumen, from sand, silt, and clay.
What will be the effects of the Keystone Pipeline?
Ultimately, construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline could have detrimental effects on the environment, such as the destruction of ecosystems, the loss of habitats, and the pollution of nearby rivers. But proponents of the pipeline state that the economic benefits the construction process can have on the economy is much needed.
What are facts about Keystone Pipeline?
Quick Facts
- Keystone XL 329 miles (529 km) in Canada (Hardisty, Alta., to Monchy, Sask.)
- 840 miles (1,351 km) in the United States (Phillips County, Mont. to Steele City, Neb.)
- 36-inch diameter pipeline Capacity of 830,000 barrels per day
What is going on with the Keystone Pipeline?
Studies have linked leaks from oil sands pipelines like Keystone XL to significant degradation of nearby land and water resources. A major concern is tailings ponds, the product of toxic waste from mining in the tar sands that can sicken communities and wildlife that depend on the land to survive.
What were the benefits of the Keystone pipeline?
The Keystone XL Pipeline will contribute to energy security, create tens of thousands of high-quality employment and local contracting opportunities as well as provide a substantial economic benefit to local communities across Canada and the United States.
Does the U.S. need the Keystone pipeline?
Ramped up domestic oil production and alternative supply routes have lessened the U.S.'s need for the hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil that would have been pumped daily through the now-cancelled Keystone XL pipeline, some industry experts say.
How does the Keystone pipeline affect the United States?
In fact, Keystone XL would actually increase the price of oil in the Midwest adding almost $2 to $4 billion annually to the U.S. fuel bill. It will do this by diverting major volumes of tar sands oil that currently goes to the U.S. Midwest to the Gulf Coast.
Why was the Keystone pipeline a bad idea?
No matter how you look at it, Keystone XL would be bad for wildlife, especially endangered species. Many imperiled species live along the proposed pipeline's path and in areas where tar-sands oil is produced. If the pipeline were built, it would decimate habitat these species rely on.
Did we get oil from the Keystone pipeline?
The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy and as of 31 March 2020 the Government of Alberta....Keystone Pipeline.Keystone XL Pipeline (Phase 4)ToSteele City, NebraskaGeneral informationTypeCrude oilStatusCancelled9 more rows
How does the Keystone pipeline affect the economy?
But once the pipeline is finished, it will create just 35 permanent jobs, according to the report. The State Department estimated that construction of Keystone XL would contribute $3.4 billion to the nation's output. That's about 0.02 percent of the $18 trillion U.S. economy.
Why the Keystone XL pipeline should be built?
Why do we need Keystone XL? The U.S. continues to import about 9.1 million barrels of oil a day from 90 countries across the globe. When completed, Keystone XL will play a critical role in connecting the world's third largest oil reserve with the world's largest refining market at the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Who shut down the Keystone pipeline?
owner TC EnergyKeystone XL was halted by owner TC Energy after U.S. President Joe Biden this year revoked a key permit needed for a U.S. stretch of the 1,200-mile project. The Keystone XL pipeline was expected to carry 830,000 barrels per day of Alberta oil sands crude to Nebraska.
How has Keystone pipeline affected Oklahoma?
Again, the impact will be felt not just in Oklahoma: The pipeline here increases the transport of oil to Cushing, one of the largest transshipment and oil-storage locations in the world.
How many jobs would be destroyed by the executive order?
Also, despite the president’s supposed priorities, the executive order would lead to the destruction of 10,000 union jobs, as well as the $500 million allocated for indigenous suppliers and a $10 million fund for green-jobs training.
Is the Keystone pipeline good?
Killing the Keystone XL pipeline does no tangible good and will doubtless cause harm to countless Americans, and even to the environment that the decision pledges to protect.
Why do environmentalists oppose the pipeline?
But others, including environmentalists who oppose the pipeline mainly because extracting oil from tar sands releases more greenhouse gases than other methods of harvesting oil, also argue the pipeline will do little or nothing to boost US energy security and will actually lead to higher oil prices in the Midwest.
How long does it take to approve the pipeline?
That bill would strip the president of authority to block the project and give the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 30 days to approve the pipeline. But most of the heated partisan rhetoric over job creation and gasoline prices glosses over ...
Will the pipeline reduce the price of Canadian oil?
The pipeline would reduce the “discount on Canadian oil” currently paid by US refiners – an oil price increase for US refineries, Pourbaix said in a congressional hearing last May. Even so, “that crude will still remain the cheapest source of crude by a long shot that U.S. refineries have access to,” he testified.
Will the TransCanada pipeline increase the price of oil?
In hearings last May and December, TransCanada officials admitted to US legislators that the pipeline will indeed increase the price paid for Canadian oil in the Midwest – but suggested those higher crude oil prices would not necessarily mean higher gasoline prices in that region.
Does the Keystone pipeline need to be built to bring Canadian oil to the US?
Less obvious, however, is the fact that the Keystone XL pipeline is not actually needed to bring all that new Canadian oil to the US – a flow now projected to rise to 1.7 million barrels per day by 2030, according to the same DOE study.
Who chaired the Keystone XL hearing?
Legislators react to findings. Rep. Ed Whitfield (R) of Kentucky, who chaired two hearings into the Keystone XL, heard positive testimony about the pipeline – as well as contradicting testimony that it would do little or nothing for energy security while raising Midwest oil prices. He still likes the project, however.
Is Keystone XL a no brainer?
Even so, supporters in Congress continue to call Keystone XL “a no-brainer" from a US energy-security standpoint, also arguing it would benefit consumers by lowering gas prices, too. Keystone XL's “supplies from reliable sources leads to lower costs, thereby putting downward pressure on prices,” one study on TransCanada's website says.
How much oil would be transported by Keystone XL?
To be precise, it would transport 830,000 barrels of Alber ta tar sands oil per day to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Some 3 million miles of oil and gas pipelines already run through our country. But Keystone XL wouldn’t be your average pipeline, and tar sand oil isn’t your average crude.
Why is it so hard to clean up tar sands oil?
And when tar sands oil does spill, it’s more difficult to clean up than conventional crude because it immediately sinks to the bottom of the waterway. People and wildlife coming into contact with tar sands oil are exposed to toxic chemicals, and rivers and wetland environments are at particular risk from a spill.
What would happen if Keystone XL was fully realized?
A fully realized Keystone XL would lead to more mining of that “nasty stuff” by accelerating the pace at which it’s produced and transported. (Indeed, Keystone XL was viewed as a necessary ingredient in the oil industry’s plans to triple tar sands production by 2030.)
What is the sticky deposit in the boreal forest?
The boreal forest. Gord McKenna. Beneath the wilds of northern Alberta’s boreal forest is a sludgy, sticky deposit called tar sands. These sands contain bitumen, a gooey type of petroleum that can be converted into fuel.
Why is Keystone XL being opposed?
Opposition to Keystone XL centers on the devastating environmental consequences of the project. The pipeline has faced years of sustained protests from environmental activists and organizations; Indigenous communities; religious leaders; and the farmers, ranchers, and business owners along its proposed route. One such protest, a historic act of civil disobedience outside the White House in August 2011, resulted in the arrest of more than 1,200 demonstrators. More than 90 leading scientists and economists have opposed the project, in addition to unions and world leaders such as the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and former president Jimmy Carter (together, these and other Nobel laureates have written letters against the project). In 2014, more than two million comments urging a rejection of the pipeline were submitted to the State Department during a 30-day public comment period.
When will Keystone XL be cancelled?
January 20, 2021 Melissa Denchak. UPDATE: June 9, 2021: TC Energy announced that it is canceling the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, putting an end to a fossil fuel project that endangered waterways, communities, and the climate, which President Biden denied a key permit for on his first day in office.
When did Obama refuse to grant a permit for the Keystone pipeline?
When the Obama administration refused to grant the cross-border permit necessary to build TC Energy’s Keystone XL oil pipeline in November 2015, it struck a blow against polluting powers and acknowledged the consensus on this misguided project from a wide swath of people and organizations. “America is now a global leader when it comes to taking serious action to fight climate change,” President Obama said. “And, frankly, approving this project would have undercut that global leadership.” The Obama-era decision echoed a seven-year State Department review process with EPA input that concluded the pipeline would fail to serve national interests.
How to remove bitumen from the ground?
According to the New York Times, one method includes using water and natural gas to pump steam into the tar sands , which creates the potential for a toxic runoff. Strip mining is the other option. 2.
How many barrels of oil are in the Keystone pipeline?
The Keystone XL pipeline is a delivery system that is designed to carry over 800,000 barrels of oil sands petroleum per day from Western Canada to oil refineries along the Gulf Coast of the United States. Around half of the pipeline has already been completed, but its construction has always been opposed by various environmentalist groups.
What would happen if Keystone XL went active?
In practical terms: if Keystone XL goes active, it would be the equivalent of adding 5.6 million cars to US roadways every day. 6. Tar sands oil has the potential to be highly corrosive. The oil that will be piped through the Keystone XL extension is some of the most corrosive petroleum that is used today.
How much money will the Keystone pipeline contribute to the US economy?
It is believed that the Keystone XL pipeline has the potential to contribute more than $3 billion annually to the US economy once it become operational. It would also create an estimated $2.4 billion (in US dollars) for Canada, which would be split between the government, shareholders, and company reinvestments.
How many jobs will the Keystone pipeline create?
The US State Department has estimated that the construction of the pipeline project could create up to 42,000 jobs over a two-year construction period.
Why can Canadian producers raise prices with Keystone?
With Keystone, Canadian producers can raise prices because the quality of the petroleum will be better while they are able to cut into their overhead costs at the same time. 6. The amount of emissions added to the atmosphere from Keystone XL are negligible.
Is the Dakota Access Pipeline related to the Keystone pipeline?
The issues from DAPL are often associated with Keystone XL. The protests from the Dakota Access Pipeline are often associated with the Keystone pipeline. Although the two projects are somewhat similar in what they hope to accomplish, the environmental concerns are slightly different for Keystone.
Why is the Keystone pipeline important?
The Keystone XL pipeline was designed to transport oil to the Gulf Coast because refineries in the region are already equipped to process heavier crude oils, like those found in Canada’s Alberta province. The same kind of crude oil comes to the region from Latin America. If the pipeline transfers as much crude oil to the Gulf Coast as ...
Where does Keystone XL pipeline go?
What gets exported. The Keystone XL pipeline will transport crude oil from Alberta, Canada to Nebraska. The oil will then flow through another pipeline to Gulf Coast refineries, where it will be refined into petroleum products like gasoline.
Where does the Gulf Coast get its oil from?
The Gulf Coast imported more than 3.3 million barrels of crude oil a day in 2016. Most of that oil came from Latin America and the Middle East. Only 9 percent of the crude oil imported to the Gulf Coast came from Canada. The Keystone XL pipeline was designed to transport oil to the Gulf Coast because refineries in the region are already equipped ...
Is Gillibrand correct?
Gillibrand suggests the crude oil imported through the pipeline would be immediately exported to other countries once it reaches the Gulf Coast. Experts say that is not the case. "I don't believe that she is correct," said Mark Bateau, Director of the Energy Institute at the University of Michigan.
Does Keystone XL have oil?
The Keystone XL pipeline "doesn’t even have any oil for America.". The Keystone Steele City pumping station in Nebraska. The Keystone XL pipeline is supposed to connect to the station / Credit: Associated Press, 2015.
Does the Gillibrand pipeline affect gas prices?
The U.S. State Department did not respond to most of Gillibrand’s claim but did comment on how the pipeline could affect gas prices. "As the final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement makes clear, gas prices throughout the United States are primarily driven by global market factors," a spokesperson said.
Who fought against the Iran deal?
"Senator Cryin’ Chuck Schumer fought hard against the Bad Iran Deal, even going at it with President Obama, & then Voted AGAINST it! Now he says I should not have terminated the deal"
Root of The Problem
More Production, But Higher Costs For Americans
- Even if the pipeline was already built, it wouldn't help with the price at the pump, Nemet added, noting that the U.S. has already doubled its oil production over the last 15 years. "And yet, we still have $100 per barrel oil." With inflation soaring, gas prices have been increasing for months — hitting an average of $4.33 a gallonon March 11, acco...
Less Oil, Clean Energy Fans Say
- By contrast, Mr. Biden's decision with the International Energy Agency to release 30 million barrels of oilfrom the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve puts downward pressure on gas prices in the short-term, Kieve said. The agency will release a total of 60 million barrels of crude to help ease some of the supply disruptions caused by the war Ukraine. "You won't see a lot of environmenta…