• 3 minutes e-car sales collapse
  • 6 minutes America Is Exceptional in Its Political Divide
  • 11 minutes Perovskites, a ‘dirt cheap’ alternative to silicon, just got a lot more efficient
  • 4 hours GREEN NEW DEAL = BLIZZARD OF LIES
  • 7 hours How Far Have We Really Gotten With Alternative Energy
  • 9 hours If hydrogen is the answer, you're asking the wrong question
  • 4 days Oil Stocks, Market Direction, Bitcoin, Minerals, Gold, Silver - Technical Trading <--- Chris Vermeulen & Gareth Soloway weigh in
  • 6 days The European Union is exceptional in its political divide. Examples are apparent in Hungary, Slovakia, Sweden, Netherlands, Belarus, Ireland, etc.
  • 22 hours Biden's $2 trillion Plan for Insfrastructure and Jobs
  • 4 days "What’s In Store For Europe In 2023?" By the CIA (aka RFE/RL as a ruse to deceive readers)
Rory Johnston

Rory Johnston

Rory Johnston is a Master of Global Affairs student at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs where he focuses primarily on the…

More Info

Premium Content

White House Delays Keystone XL Decision Until Nebraska Legal Challenge Settled

The Keystone XL pipeline, already one of the most politicized and delayed pipelines in history, has hit another roadblock.

On April 18, the Obama administration announced that it would delay its decision on whether to approve the US-Canada pipeline indefinitely until ongoing litigation in Nebraska that could affect the route of the pipeline is settled. TransCanada, the company behind Keystone XL, saw its share price sink 3.7 percent after news of the decision broke.

Three landowners along the proposed Keystone XL route are challenging a Nebraska state law that gave Governor Dave Heineman the power to approve the route against their wishes. In February, a lower court sided with the plaintiffs, ruling that the law was unconstitutional. The judge said that the power rested in the hands of the Nebraska Public Service Commission, a body established in 1885 to take politics out of railroad-related decisions.

The state is challenging the ruling, which has landed the case in front of the Nebraska Supreme Court. The Court is not expected to hear the case until September or October and its decision could come months later. If the ruling is overturned, the issue will end up back in policy limbo at the U.S. State Department. If upheld, jurisdiction will be ceded to the Public Service Commission, and the State of Nebraska may take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Related Article: Keystone Decision in Two Months?

The 1,700-mile pipeline is intended to transport 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day from the Albertan oilsands to Gulf Coast refiners. TransCanada has already sunk more than $2 billion in preparation for the pipeline. “We are extremely disappointed and frustrated,” said TransCanada CEO Russ Girling. “Another delay is inexplicable.”

Despite ongoing delays and uncertainty, Shawn Howard, a spokesman for TransCanada, insists that demand for the project remains intact. “Energy infrastructure projects like Keystone XL are designed to meet a need -- and that need has not has changed,” Howard said.

Keystone XL is more than just a pipeline -- it’s also a political litmus test that could provide insight into the future viability of Canada-US energy trade. “This is really the only major pipeline that is increasing capacity going all the way down to the Gulf Coast. And any alternative would likely be crossing the Canadian-U.S. border, just like Keystone, so I would not anticipate a close alternative to come up unless you’re talking about shipping oil from a different region other than the oilsands,” said Lanny Pendill, an energy analyst at Edward Jones.

Opponents say that Keystone XL will increase U.S. reliance on high-carbon sources of oil. Proponents argue that it will decrease U.S. dependency on less reliable -- and less friendly -- foreign sources of oil, and avoid the risks of transporting oil by rail.

Further complicating matters, major unions are coming out in favor of the pipeline as they look to increase summer employment in the construction industry and skilled trades. This has put the Obama administration in the awkward position of seeing its political base split between anti-pipeline environmentalists and pro-pipeline labour groups.

The delays are also alienating U.S. allies in Ottawa.

Related Article: Keystone XL’s Miniscule CO2 Impact and the Bigger Picture

"We are disappointed that politics continue to delay a decision on Keystone XL," said a statement from Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office. "This project will create tens of thousands of jobs on both sides of the border, will enhance the energy security of North America, has strong public support, and the U.S. State Department has, on multiple occasions, acknowledged it will be environmentally sound."

ADVERTISEMENT

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce estimates that the Canadian economy is losing $50 million per day due to inadequate pipeline capacity.

This latest delay will push the conclusion of the Keystone XL approval process to late 2014 at best, while the worst case scenario will test the definitional limits of “indefinitely.”

By Rory Johnston of Oilprice.com


Download The Free Oilprice App Today

Back to homepage





Leave a comment
  • Chad Wozniak on April 22 2014 said:
    Obama nixed the Keystone after receiving the promise of $100 million in "campaign contributions" from a global warming fanatic billionaire, Tom Steyer. Is this bribery? Smells like it to me!

    One alarmist freako's delusions count for more than 42,000 American and 25,000 Canadian high paying jobs. Not to mention the relief from dependency on hatemongering kleptocracies for our oil. Not to mention a 50-fold reduction in pollution from transporting oil by truck and rail. Not to mention the gratuitous slap in the face to our closest friend and ally. The Canadians think we're nuts here in the States. Sooner or later they're going to lose patience ans start shipping their oil to China, where it will burn far dirtier than it would here.

    Two jackasses make for both economic and environmental lunacy.

Leave a comment




EXXON Mobil -0.35
Open57.81 Trading Vol.6.96M Previous Vol.241.7B
BUY 57.15
Sell 57.00
Oilprice - The No. 1 Source for Oil & Energy News