Canada urges timely Keystone decision after report

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TORONTO (AP) — Canada’s Natural Resources Minister said
Friday he’s "more confident" the Keystone XL pipeline will be approved
after U.S. State Department’s latest environmental report raised no
major environmental objections to the long-delayed project.
Joe
Oliver urged the Obama administration to make a "timely decision,"
noting the United States has been studying the pipeline for five years.
He said the latest federal study was the fifth on its environmental
impact and said each report has stated that the pipeline would not
adversely affect the environment.
"This is a positive step on the route to approval," Oliver said. "We hope and expect the
final decision will be positive."
The
State Department report said the Canadian oil sands are likely to be
developed regardless of U.S. action on the pipeline and other options to
get the oil from Canada to Gulf Coast refineries — including rail,
trucks and barges — would be worse for climate change. Oliver said the
report concludes that not building this project would result in
emissions that are 28 to 42 percent higher than if the pipeline is
built.
Calgary, Alberta-based TransCanada’s pipeline would carry
800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta and the U.S. Bakken across six
U.S. states to refineries in the Texas Gulf Coast.
The Canadian
government has also warned if no new pipelines are built Canadian oil
would instead be shipped to the U.S. Gulf Coast by rail. Concerns have
been raised about the increasing use of rail to transport oil throughout
North America. Several recent derailments have worried both officials
and residents close to rail lines. In July of last year, 47 people were
incinerated in Lac-Megantic, Quebec, when a train with 72 oil tankers
derailed and exploded, destroying the small community’s downtown
Obama’s
initial rejection of the pipeline went over badly in Canada, which
relies on the U.S. for 97 percent of its energy exports. The pipeline is
critical to Canada, which needs more infrastructure to export its
growing oil sands production. Alberta has the world’s third largest oil
reserves, with 170 billion barrels of proven reserves.
Obama
initially refused to issue a permit for part of the Keystone XL project
amid concerns about its potential impact on a large aquifer in Nebraska.
The administration is considering another application.
TransCanada
chief executive Russ Girling said Friday he’s "very pleased" with the
report and called it "another important milestone."
Alex Pourbaix,
TransCanada’s President of energy and oil pipelines, noted the latest
study has a much more robust analysis of the impact of rail and said it
backs up their contention that a pipeline it is a safer way of
transporting oil. TransCanada has said if the Obama administration
doesn’t approve the pipeline it will look to the more dangerous
alternative of building build rail terminals in Alberta and Oklahoma.
Greg
Stringham, a Vice President with The Canadian Association of Petroleum
Producers, said the continued ramp up of transporting oil by rail in
Canada is dependent on whether Keystone XL is approved.
"It really
depends on this decision," Stringham said. "Many producers have been
holding back on making long term commitments to rail because they
believe Keystone XL will satisfy 700,000 to 830,000 barrels a day of
that demand. That doesn’t mean rail won’t be needed. It would be much
more niche. If it’s not approved the rail companies will be much more
mainline providers."
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