WASHINGTON, July 30, 2012 ─ The American Petroleum Institute urged the State Department to move forward swiftly on its review of the Keystone XL pipeline, in comment submitted today. Further delay of this critical project is unnecessary, and building the pipeline will ensure long-term U.S. energy security, more dependable supplies of Canadian oil and the creation of thousands of American jobs.
“There is no reason to further delay this critical jobs and national security project,” said API Refining Manager Cindy Schild. “With high unemployment and continued instability in the Middle East – approval of this pipeline will help our economy and help put our energy future back into our own hands.”
A recent Washington Post
poll found that a strong majority of Americans want Keystone XL to be built. In addition to bringing 830,000 additional barrels of Canadian oil to the market every day, the pipeline would provide a critical outlet for domestic Bakken crude to reach markets, resulting in even more benefit to consumers, according to API.
“The scope of the State Department’s review should be confined to the new 88 mile reroute in Nebraska,” said Schild. “The rest of the project has already received a thorough environmental assessment and a determination by the State Department that there would be ‘no significant impacts’ on the environment. Every day of delay is a delay on getting Americans back to work, and America leading on energy.”
API represents more than 500 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America's energy, supports 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers more than $86 million a day in revenue to our government, and, since 2000, has invested more than $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.