Pipeline dreams turn to ashes for Big Oil
Rick Smith, The Star, May 17 2013
The arrogance of oil companies and the Harper government turned a previously obscure environmental issue into a much more potent concern regarding the erosion of democracy and fairness
Senate endorses construction of Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas
By Associated Press, Published: March 22
WASHINGTON — The Senate has endorsed construction of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline that is to carry oil from Canada to Texas oil refineries.
Senators voted 62-37 on Friday for the nonbinding measure. Seventeen Democrats and all 45 Republicans voted yes.
Where Is the Climate Leadership? We Need to Get It Right on Keystone XL
Robert Redford, Huffington Post, March 4 2013
Mr. Secretary, I am disappointed. I thought that we all understood that to fight climate change, we have to be able to say "no" to dirty energy projects. Our friends around the world are looking to us for climate leadership and it starts with drawing the line at tar sands expansion. It also means that we need to give health and environment a fair shake in the environmental review of a dirty energy project such as the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. Yet the draft environmental review prepared by the State Department for Keystone XL misses what folks in industry themselves are saying: the Keystone XL project is necessary for expansion of tar sands. We know this means that Keystone XL will make climate change worse.
Bitumen's Extraordinary and Popular Delusions
Andrew Nikiforuk, TheTyee.ca, 9 Mar 2013
Behold the latest mystical and ecstatic pronouncements of Keystone XL acolytes.
When to Say No
Editorial, New York Times, March 11, 2013
The State Department’s latest environmental assessment of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline makes no recommendation about whether President Obama should approve it. Here is ours. He should say no, and for one overriding reason: A president who has repeatedly identified climate change as one of humanity’s most pressing dangers cannot in good conscience approve a project that — even by the State Department’s most cautious calculations — can only add to the problem.
Keystone XL pipeline would have little impact on climate change, State Department analysis says
Juliet Eilperin & Steven Mufson, Washington Post, March 1, 2013
Keystone XL: Draft Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)
US State Dept, March 1 2013
Keystone XL Pipeline Evaluation Process Fact Sheet 2012 [
PDF version ]
Executive Summary
1.0 Executive Summary Front Cover [155 Kb]
2.0 Title Page [1889 Kb]
3.0 Executive Summary [12305 Kb]
Keystone XL DRAFT SEIS Cover Letter [95 Kb]
Keystone XL DRAFT SEIS Errata Sheet [54 Kb]
U.S. State Department says Keystone XL won't impact global warming
Shawn McCarthy, Globe and Mail, Mar. 01 2013
OTTAWA — TransCanada Corp.’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline has cleared a significant political hurdle in the United States after a State Department assessment concluded the project would not contribute to the warming of the planet.
Canadian Pipe Fashion: Oil is the New Gas
Elena Schor, elenaschor.com, Feb 15 2013
Remember last week, when TransCanada threw a jab at Keystone XL opponents by unveiling a “plan A” to move more than a half-million barrels of oil-sands crude out of Alberta — no matter what happens to the infamous pipeline – by converting parts of its natural gas Mainline to run oil?
Keystone XL Protesters Seized at White House
John M Broder, New York Times, Feb 13 2013
Four dozen environmental activists succeeded in getting themselves arrested outside the White House on Wednesday afternoon to draw attention to their demand that President Obama reject construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada.
TransCanada planning cross-country pipeline end-around
Journalstar.com, February 9, 2013
CALGARY, Canada — Crude from Alberta's oil sands sells at a 30 percent discount to its U.S. counterpart. TransCanada Corp. Chief Executive Officer Russ Girling plans to narrow that gap whether or not his Keystone XL pipeline to the Gulf of Mexico wins approval from the Obama administration.
NEB rejects TransCanada unit’s bid to expand B.C. gas pipeline
Jeff Lewis, National Post, Jan 31 2013
CALGARY — TransCanada Corp.’s advance into the remote shale gas fields of British Columbia has been temporarily stalled amid concern that a proposed 100-kilometre expansion to its B.C. pipeline system would “unreasonably subsidize” users of the addition.
Energy minister solidifies federal acceptance of west-to-east oil pipeline
Terry Pedwell, Canadian Press, Winnipeg Free Press, Feb 1 2013
OTTAWA - The federal government is firming up its support of two projects that would see oil from Alberta piped to Atlantic Canada.Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver says he gave a tentative nod to one proposal in a meeting with industry giant Irving Oil.
New Brunswick pushes cross-country pipeline as 'game changer'
Jane Taber, Shawn McCarthy, Nathan VanderKlippe, Globe and Mail, January 28, 2013
HALIFAX, OTTAWA and CALGARY —
New Brunswick Premier David Alward is headed to Alberta to inject some political momentum into a proposed $5-billion, cross-Canada oil pipeline that he describes as a nation-building project.
B.C. LNG exports take a step forward with TransCanada announcement
l, Alberta Oil Magazine, January 14, 2013
TCPL to build $5.1 billion pipeline that will feed coastal terminal
If you’re keen on seeing liquefied natural gas (LNG) exported from the coast of British Columbia, Wednesday was a good day.
Texas judge halts oil pipeline work
Ramit Plushnick-Masti, Star-Telegram, Associated Press, 11 Dec 2012
HOUSTON — A Texas judge has ordered TransCanada to temporarily halt work on a private property where it is building part of an oil pipeline designed to carry tar sands oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast, the latest legal battle to plague a project that has encountered numerous obstacles nationwide.
TransCanada addresses pipeline explosion accusations
Adam Voge, Casper Star-Tribune, November 23, 2012
Former employee accuses company of negligence
CASPER, Wyo. — A pipeline company knew its natural gas pipeline in Wyoming had faults before a section of the pipe blew last year, says a former employee who worked extensively on the project.
Enbridge pipeline opponents lack national platform of Keystone XL
August 19, 2012
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Katy Bodenmiller was worried about the proposed pipeline work near her house in Groveland Township, Mich., so she started looking for help.
Keystone XL rival Enbridge avoids scrutiny of oil pipeline plans
Matt Pearce and Neela Banerjee, Los Angeles Times, August 18, 2012
Enbridge is proceeding largely unencumbered with plans to spend $8.8 billion in the U.S. to send greater volumes of oil to the Gulf Coast and other markets.
Oil Sands and the Keystone XL Pipeline: Background and Selected Environmental Issues
Jonathan L. Ramseur, Coordinator, Congressional Research Service, July 16 2012
Summary
If constructed, the Keystone XL pipeline would transport crude oil (e.g., synthetic crude oil or diluted bitumen) derived from oil sands in Alberta, Canada to destinations in the United States. Because the pipeline crosses an international border, it requires a Presidential Permit that is issued by the Department of State (DOS). The permit decision rests on a “national interest” determination, a term not defined in the authorizing Executive Orders. DOS states that it has “significant discretion” in the factors it examines in this determination. Key events related to the Presidential Permit include:
Washington Post: Keystone XL Series
Steven Mufson, Washington Post, Summer 2012
Steven Mufson and three others are traveling the length of the Keystone XL, from Alberta's tar sands to refineries near Houston and Port Arthur on the Texas Gulf Coast. They will report in a multipart series of articles, photographs and videos. A good place to start is with Keystone XL: A Primer
Follow their road trip, beginning here.
This is not your typical summer road trip. Yes, we’re getting out the maps and fueling up the car. But we are going in search of a story about the very thing that makes such road trips possible: oil.
Private Profit, Public Risk
J. Mijin Cha, Huffington Post, August 2, 2012
Within two years, the Enbridge tar sands pipeline has managed to release more than 850,000 gallons of oil in two different spills. The first spill in Southwestern Michigan released over 800,000 gallons of oil and cost more than $800 million to clean up. The second spill released 50,000 gallons in Adams County, Wisc., smaller than the first spill but still requiring two homes to evacuate. These spills cause great economic and environmental harm to affected communities, but barely create an inconvenience for Enbridge, which posted quarterly earnings over $300 million in the last quarter.
We Quit You Keystone XL (It's Not Us, It's You)
Post Carbon Institute, July 2012
Windfall from first Keystone pipeline falls short
Paul Hammel, Omaha World-Herald, July 15 2012
LINCOLN — When TransCanada officials began promoting the benefits of its first pipeline to cross Nebraska, they projected a $5.5 million tax windfall for the state in the first year of operation.
Major Oil Spills In Alberta Prompt Questions And Concerns About Keystone XL Pipeline
Matt Kasper, ThinkProgress.org, June 22 2012
The proposed Keystone XL pipeline running from Alberta’s tar sands south to Nebraska and Texas continues to stay in the public eye. Mitt Romney gave it center stage in a
