By providing a route to the Gulf Coast
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the sout…
Full Answer
Why to stop the Keystone Pipeline?
The Canadian company behind Keystone XL, TC Energy, operates a pipeline which spilled thousands of gallons of oil in South Dakota in 2017 and North Dakota in 2019. Activists and tribal members say the pipeline endangers water quality, breaks tribal land treaties and pipeline construction brings the threat of human trafficking.
Why shut down Keystone Pipeline?
With temperatures from North Dakota to Northern Alberta far below normal, TC Energy’s Keystone pipeline was temporarily shut down on Jan 4, which affected the oil flow through its Hardisty terminal. Almost all of Alberta was under extreme cold warnings, which was expected to last until the weekend.
Why is the Keystone XL pipeline still so disputed?
Why Is the Keystone XL Pipeline Still So Disputed? The Keystone Pipeline system has been the subject of controversy for years as environmentalists and others have fought to prevent construction and expansion of this oil-delivery network.
Why did the Keystone Pipeline shut down?
The Keystone pipeline has not been shut down. It is still moving hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil every day. All that oil passes right through the US, on its way to Asian markets. What was stopped was the building of the XL extension. The XL extension was slated to be built right over the top of the nations largest fresh water aquifer.
What is the benefit 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.
Who does the Keystone Pipeline serve?
The Keystone Pipeline System plays a key role in delivering Canadian and US crude oil supplies to markets around North America. It stretches 4,324 km (2,687 miles) from Alberta to refineries in Illinois, Oklahoma and the US Gulf Coast.
What is bad about Keystone pipeline?
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.
Who shut down the Keystone pipeline?
Keystone 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.
Who owns Keystone pipeline?
TC EnergyOwned by North American company TC Energy, the Keystone XL Pipeline “is the fourth phase of the Keystone Pipeline System,” an existing 2,687-mile pipeline whose Canadian portion “runs from Hardisty, Alberta, east into Manitoba where it turns south and crosses the border into North Dakota,” according to the company's ...
How long would it take to complete the Keystone pipeline?
When Biden revoked the permit on January 20, 2021, TC Energy completed just over 90 miles of a pipeline supposed to extend across 1,200 miles. Considering this construction history and the inevitable lawsuits the pipeline would have faced again, completion in three years might be wishful thinking.
Why is Keystone XL bad?
The pipeline passes through an active earthquake zone. One bad spill could permanently poison the Ogallala Aquifer, which provides drinking water to millions of people, and 30 percent of our irrigation.
Is Keystone pipeline good?
Here is another reason, perhaps the best reason of all: It doesn't do us any good. China, yes. The Koch Brothers (who own the refining capacity that would be used), yes. Us, no.
Does the pipeline pass through earthquake zones?
The pipeline passes through an active earthquake zone. One bad spill could permanently poison the Ogallala Aquifer, which provides drinking water to millions of people, and 30 percent of our irrigation. Here is another reason, perhaps the best reason of all: It doesn’t do us any good. China, yes.
How much will Keystone XL increase the price of crude oil?
Keystone XL will increase the price of heavy crude oil in the Midwest by almost $2 to $4 billion annually , and escalating for several years. It will do this by diverting major volumes of tar sands oil now supplying the Midwest refineries, so it can be sold at higher prices to the Gulf Coast and export markets.
Why are people confused about the pipeline?
Why are people confused and baffled? One possible reason is politics. The proposed pipeline has been a political hot topic , and both political parties may be stretching the truth. Republicans, along with TransCanada, continue to overstate the amount of jobs we're talking about with this project. On the other side, Democrats have been citing safety and the environment as reasons this project should not move forward. Americans are caught in the middle, with various media outlets providing various numbers surrounding pros and cons to this project. It's no wonder Americans are confused.
Does Transcanda overstate the Keystone pipeline?
TransCanda overstates the number of jobs it will create with the Keystone pipeline.
Is Keystone XL a good idea?
Exactly why Keystone XL may not be a good idea —unless there are restrictions on exporting the oil out of North America, but something that will probably never happen. See a slide show of a reality check on U.S. energy sources. Read the U.S. News debate on fracking. Follow the U.S. News Energy Intelligence blog on Twitter.
Is TransCanada pipeline permanent?
TransCanada admits permanent jobs would only number in the hundreds. On the flip side, the pipeline would be permanent, and the rise in price for this oil that we already consume would rise for decades to come.
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.
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.
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.
What is the Keystone pipeline?
The Keystone XL pipeline extension, proposed by TC Energy (then TransCanada) in 2008, was initially designed to transport the planet’s dirtiest fossil fuel, tar sands oil, to market—and fast. As an expansion of the company’s existing Keystone Pipeline System, which has been operating since 2010 (and continues to send Canadian tar sands crude oil from Alberta to various processing hubs in the middle of the United States), the pipeline promised to dramatically increase capacity to process the 168 billion barrels of crude oil locked up under Canada’s boreal forest. It was expected to transport 830,000 barrels of Alberta tar sands oil per day to refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas.
How many times has the Keystone pipeline leaked?
Since it first went into operation in 2010, TC Energy’s original Keystone Pipeline System has leaked more than a dozen times; one incident in North Dakota sent a 60-foot, 21,000-gallon geyser of tar sands oil spewing into the air.
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.
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.)
How many jobs will KXL create?
When TC Energy said the pipeline would create nearly 119,000 jobs, a State Department report instead concluded the project would require fewer than 2,000 two-year construction jobs and that the number of full-time, permanent jobs would hover around 35 after construction.
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.
Why would Canadian oil producers choose Keystone XL?
Why Canadian crude oil producers would choose Keystone XL when other pipelines to the US are running well below capacity has much to do with diversifying away from the US market to more lucrative markets in Europe, China, and other Asian countries, Verleger and others argue. Trends seem to support this thesis.
Who wants to build the pipeline from Alberta to the Gulf Coast?
These little-publicized findings are contained in the studies and testimony of experts working for TransCanada , the company that wants to build the pipeline from Alberta’s tar sands across America’s heartland to Gulf Coast refineries.
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 much oil would Keystone XL move?
According to this premise, Keystone XL would move up to 830,000 barrels of Canadian crude south each day, boosting economic activity by billions of dollars and creating thousands of new jobs – though their precise number is hotly disputed.
How will the Whitfield pipeline help the price of gasoline?
In an e-mailed statement, Whitfield's press secretary adds that the pipeline “will help lower the price of gasoline by bringing more oil supply to the market ” and says the Department of Energy “specifically states that gasoline prices in all connected markets would go down.”
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 ...
How much did farmers spend on fuel in 2009?
US farmers who spent $12.4 billion on fuel in 2009 could see those costs rise to $15 billion or higher if the pipeline goes through, he projects. At least $500 million of the added cost “would come from the Canadian market manipulation,” he wrote.
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.
What was the impact report on Keystone XL?
In fact, the impact report stated that the State Department expected extraction of oil in Canada and changes to the environment “regardless of any potential effects” from the Keystone XL project.
What does Biden mean by revoking Keystone?
Indeed, by revoking Keystone’s permit, President Biden is relegating these workers to the unemployment line, when our country can ill afford to strain our already overstressed unemployment system.
How many jobs will the pipeline create?
In response to the president’s decision, lawmakers have introduced legislation to mandate continuation of the project, estimating that the pipeline’s expansion would create 11,000 “direct high-paying jobs” and “up to 60,000 indirect and direct jobs.”
Is Keystone XL a no brainer?
To anyone truly interested in optimizing health and human safety for the American people and our friends in Canada — as well as protecting the environment and promoting well-paying jobs — supporting Keystone XL is a no-brainer.
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.