Still waiting for word from WH on Keystone pipeline
Chris Woodward - OneNewsNow - 12/29/2011
The clock is ticking for President Barack Obama to either make a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline -- or explain why the plan is not in the nation's best interest.
Dan Simmons, director of state and regulatory affairs at the Institute for Energy Research (IER), thinks it is easy to see why the pipeline should be approved.
"Is it in our national interest to get more oil from Canada or from other sources? Since Canada is our best ally, they're our biggest trading partner, [and] they're our best friends in pretty much every way, it seems to me that it is definitely in our national interest to get more oil from Canada," he reasons.
And Simmons points out something that often goes unreported or ignored in today's news involving oil.
Daniel Simmons (Inst. for Energy Research)"Our number-one source of imported oil is Canada. It's not Saudi Arabia, or Russia, or one of the other large oil producers; it is, in fact, Canada," the state and regulatory affairs director reports. "And number two is usually Mexico."
If the president turns down the Keystone XL pipeline, it will not jeopardize TransCanada's current Keystone pipeline already in place. However, Simmons asserts that TransCanada will not just let its oil sit there. One option would be to ship it off to Asian markets or transport more oil by trains.
"Already there is a daily train route that goes from North Dakota down to refineries in Oklahoma and other parts of the country," he explains. "It's already happening from within the United States, and if the pipeline is not built, you can expect to see more transported oil by trains."
Until a decision is made, the Institute for Energy Research estimates the XL Pipeline delay will continue to cost the United States $70 million a day. The requirement for a decision on the pipeline was included in the two-month extension of the Social Security payroll tax cut approved by Congress.
