Even though President Barack Obama said no last week, at least for now to Canadian energy company's proposal to build and operate the $7 billion, 1,700-mile Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil sands crude from Alberta to Texas, Congress may have the final say.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that Canada may look west to find ways to export its crude to China. That could mean an all-Canadian oil pipeline to a British Columbia port.
According to a new legal analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, Congress could trump the President. Congressional pipeline supporters are drafting legislation to overturn his decision to put the $7 billion Alberta-to-Texas project on ice.
Historically, U.S. presidents have made executive decisions on pipelines that cross borders. But Congress has the power to weigh in on the permits, four CRS legislative attorneys have concluded.
What does that all mean to Washington state beside the possibility of a new crude pipeline and oil export facility just North of our border? Maybe a new source of crude for our state's oil refineries which also get their crude from Canada via pipeline and Alaska by ocean-going tankers.
But the Midwest and Gulf states leaders say Keystone XL is too important to the U.S. economy and our national interest. The project remains the best option to supply crude oil to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries and getting crude from our Canadian friends makes us far less vulnerable to suppliers in hostile nations.
The U.S. consumes 15 million barrels of oil each day and imports 10 to 11 million barrels during a 24-hour period. Industry forecasts predict oil consumption will continue at these levels for the next two to three decades, so a secure supply of crude oil is critical to U.S. energy security.
A second important point for Washingtonians and all Americans is President Obama and other key elected and appointed officials need to look realistically are our nation's energy needs. Electricity, natural gas and transportation fuels impact every American family, hospital, factory, school, fire department and business. In the last decade there are so many key energy projects which have been canceled, delayed or litigated that we are all starting to feel the pinch in our wallets.
Regarding energy facilities deferred or canceled, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce finds that successful construction of the 351 projects identified in the Project No Project inventory could produce a $1.1 trillion short-term boost to the economy and create 1.9 million jobs annually. Moreover, these facilities, once constructed, continue to generate jobs once built, because they operate for years or even decades. Each year, the Chamber finds, the operation of these projects could generate $145 billion in economic benefits and involve 791,000 jobs.
Keystone XL is shovel-ready.TransCanada is poised to put 13,000 Americans to work to construct the pipeline - pipefitters, welders, mechanics, electricians, heavy equipment operators, among other jobs - in addition to 7,000 manufacturing jobs that would be created across the U.S. Additionally, local businesses along the pipeline route will benefit from the 118,000 spin-off jobs Keystone XL will create through increased business for local goods and service providers.
According to the Los Angeles Times, even if the administration rejects the project, it may not be enough to kill it, industry analysts said. Americans' thirst for oil probably will push the administration and TransCanada to find a way to transport Canadian crude across the United States.
Let's hope so. Meanwhile, we ought to hope our Canadian friends don't run out of patience and give up on us.
Don C. Brunell, President (DonB@awb.org)
