Favorable keystone pipeline report issued
WASHINGTON, April 21, 2011 ─ The latest U.S. State Department environmental analysis to the Keystone XL project is a positive indicator for eventual approval of the project. The analysis found “no new issues of substance” and “does not alter the conclusions reached in the draft EIS regarding the need for and the potential impacts of the proposed Project.”
“We urge the administration to turn aside any additional efforts to delay this important project,” said Cindy Schild, API’s refining issues manager. “The pipeline has passed every analysis and review over the last two years, while additional American job creation and economic growth from this important project are delayed. We need to expand our energy relationship with America’s number one source of imported oil: Canada.”
For decades, U.S. refineries have been processing crude from Canadian oil sands. The Keystone pipeline could expand access to this vital resource by providing transportation for an additional 830,000 barrels of oil a day. Investing in Canadian oil sands will also produce more than 340,000 U.S. jobs and generate about $34 billion in revenue for the U.S. government, according to an economic analysis by the Canadian Energy Research Institute.
“Nearly 1000 U.S. businesses in 47 states already provide services, materials or equipment to Canada in support of oil sands development,” said Schild. “The finished pipeline will be a lifeline to nearby Canadian supplies of crude oil for U.S. workers and for businesses and families that depend on secure and affordable energy.”
The 45-day public comment period on the supplemental analysis begins on April 22. API plans to provide input on the analysis. American pipeline workers are trained and ready to start work as soon as the government permit is issued.
API represents more than 470 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America’s energy, supports more than 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.5 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers more than $85 million in revenue daily to our government, and, since 2000, has invested over $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.