Congressmen Seek to Delay Approval of TransCanada's Oil-Sands Pipeline
A group of U.S. representatives asked the Secretary of State not to approve a TransCanada Corp. oil-sands pipeline until the fuel’s effect on greenhouse-gas emissions is studied.
Representatives Jay Inslee of Washington, Peter Welch of Vermont and Dennis Kucinich of Ohio joined at least 46 other House Democrats signing the letter today to Hillary Clinton, asking for the study before the State Department issues its presidential permit for the project. The pipeline, which would stretch from oil-sands formations in Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast, needs the permit because it crosses the U.S. border.
The Keystone XL pipeline expansion would add 500,000 barrels a day of crude oil capacity to the system, which Calgary-based TransCanada estimates will cost $12 billion in total. The 1,980-mile (3,185-kilometer) XL project extends the company’s existing Keystone pipeline, which runs through Canada to the central U.S. and begins operating this year.
“The issuance of a presidential permit to build this pipeline would have significant energy and environment implications for our nation for many years to come,” the representatives wrote. “Building this pipeline has the potential to undermine America’s clean energy future and international leadership on climate change.”
Studies have found extracting oil from the sands emits three times more greenhouse gases than conventional petroleum production, according to the Congressmen. The letter asks Clinton to study how greenhouse gases, which contribute to climate change, may change over the life cycle of the pipeline.
Expanding to Texas
The 327-mile Canadian portion of the Keystone XL pipeline will run from Hardisty, Alberta, to the U.S. border at Monchy, Saskatchewan. From there the 36-inch diameter line will cut across Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska before joining the existing Keystone pipeline. The XL expansion will also extend the pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma, to Houston and Port Arthur, Texas.
TransCanada Corp. owns Canada’s largest pipeline system. The company became the sole owner of Keystone in August, buying ConocoPhillips’s 20.1 percent stake for about $550 million. The company cited increasing oil-sands production in its decision to buy out its partner. ConocoPhillips had owned as much as 50 percent of the line.
Alberta’s tar-encrusted sands hold the world’s largest crude reserves outside Saudi Arabia, according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
The company began filling part of the Keystone pipeline with oil earlier this year. The Keystone XL expansion is supposed to start operating in 2012, according to TransCanada’s website.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jordan Burke in New York at jburke29@bloomberg.net
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