American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2015 - 30

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TransCanada Not Giving Up Keystone
WASHINGTON-TransCanada Corporation, the company seeking to build
the Keystone XL Pipeline, says that while
the U.S. rejection of its border-crossing
permit was "misplaced symbolism," it
still is considering a new application
under another presidential administration.
President Barack Obama announced
Nov. 6 his acceptance of a State Department recommendation to deny a permit
for the 1,187-mile pipeline proposed to
transport oil from the tar sands in Alberta,
Canada, to connections near Steele City,
Ne., for eventual shipment to Gulf Coast
refineries.
"The critical factor in my determination
was this: Moving forward with this project
would undermine significantly our ability
to continue leading the world in combatting
climate change," Secretary of State John
Kerry says. "I also am convinced that
public arguments for and against the
pipeline have, to some extent, been overstated. Our analysis makes it clear that
the Keystone XL Pipeline would not be
the economic driver it is heralded to be."
Russ Girling, chief executive officer

of TransCanada, says the State Department's seven-year review of the project
determined the pipeline would have safely
transported thousands of barrels of oil a
day. He adds that denying the pipeline
permit is unlikely to affect production of
tar sands oil.
TransCanada and its shippers remain
absolutely committed to building Keystone
XL, Girling asserts. He says the company
plans to analyze the rejection notice and
review its options regarding filing a new
application for border-crossing authority
to ship crude oil.
"Misplaced symbolism was chosen
over merit and science. Rhetoric won
over reason," Girling says. "The United
States consumes more than 7 million barrels a day more oil than it produces, and
will continue to do so for decades, even
despite increases in U.S. oil production.
It is disappointing that the administration
appears to have said yes to more oil imports from Iran and Venezuela over oil
from Canada, the United States' strongest
ally and trading partner."
Girling cites the State Department's
2014 final environmental impact statement

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30 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

that concluded the total annual greenhouse
gas emissions from transporting oil by
rail to the Gulf Coast would be 42 percent
greater than from transporting that same
oil through the Keystone XL Pipeline.

Disappointing Canada
According to the State Department
permit determination, the proposed Keystone Pipeline:
* Would have had a negligible impact
on U.S. energy security;
* Would not lead to lower gasoline
prices for consumers;
* Would have marginal long-term
impact on the U.S. economy;
* Raised concerns about the impact
on local communities, water supplies,
and cultural heritage sites; and
* Would facilitate "transportation into
our country of a particularly dirty source
of fuel."
President Obama reports Canadian
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed
his disappointment with the decision, but
says both leaders agreed binational concurrence on a range of issues, including
energy and climate change, should provide
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