Obama Putting Keystone XL Pipeline's Southern Segment On Fast-Track

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — President Barack Obama is defending his energy policies in oil country, pointing to plans to fast-track an oil pipeline from Oklahoma to Texas that emerged after he delayed the larger Keystone XL pipeline earlier this year.

The president is using a two-day Western trip to rebut charges he has stifled domestic energy production and been too eager to spend government money on renewable energy.

Republicans have blamed Obama for gas prices that have reached $3.86 a gallon, saying his rejection of the Keystone pipeline hurt the economy. Obama counters that oil drilling has increased on his watch and ridicules critics for ceding alternative energy to China and India.

In Oklahoma, Obama is announcing plans to expedite an oil pipeline that would alleviate choke points to refineries on the Gulf Coast.

Comments

[sunsetter]

10:44 AM on 04/03/2012

More wasting of tax dollars based on Obama's beliefs - the man has never created anything in his life, nor have the people in his administration. It's no wonder they waste money -
http://campaign2012.washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/solar-company-bankrupt-despite-win-win-doe-loan/459621

[Florian EngageAmerica]

10:55 PM on 03/27/2012

Approving this portion of the pipeline is actually quite a big step for the Keystone Pipeline project. Creating jobs in the here and now is not necessarily a light matter and moreover it is exactly the kind of work that the White House had proposed to generate jobs in its American Job Act proposal (http://bit.ly/ytP77z). So why not go ahead? The pipeline would be a saving grace for a number of Americans both now and into the future. Let’s explore the possibilities of the project further.

[right4ever]

01:22 PM on 03/26/2012

All the way from Okla to texas Mr. President? can't a person stand with one foot in oklahoma and one foot in texas?

[charles77]

04:51 PM on 03/30/2012

Yea but its 800 miles from OK border to Texas coast.

[Kittypost]

04:10 PM on 04/11/2012

Just like a person can stand with one foot on the ground and one foot in their mouth, Mr. ever.

[Bill Duckworth]

02:14 PM on 03/23/2012

Keystone pipeline……..Phase 1 and 2 are DONE? Why do a second one?

Phase 1 (DONE)
The 3,456 kilometres (2,147 mi) long pipeline runs from Hardisty, Alberta to the United States refineries in Wood River, Illinois and Patoka, Illinois] Phase 1 went online in June 2010.

Phase 2 (DONE)
From Steele City, Nebraska, the 291 miles (468 km) Keystone-Cushing pipeline was routed through Kansas to the oil hub and tank farm in Cushing, Oklahoma in 2010 and went online in February 2011.

Phase 3 (Obama's FAST TRACK)
This phase,start from Cushing, Oklahoma where domestic oil would be added to the pipeline, then it would expand to serve the Port Arthur, Texas marketplace.[1] Also proposed is an approximate 47 miles (76 km) previous pipeline to transport crude oil from the pipeline in Liberty County, Texas to the Houston, Texas area.[1][30]]

Phase 4
This phase is part of the Keystone XL pipeline and would start from the same area in Alberta, Canada as the main pipeline

[mdsman]

09:22 AM on 03/23/2012

The footage of the president standing in front of the stacks of pipes already on site is hysterical.
Boy, when he says he going to fast track something, he really means it.
He was able to manufacture and deliver these pipes in less than 2 days. Wow, he is good!!!!!!
The lack of integrity and respect for our intelligence is disturbing

[Kittypost]

04:11 PM on 04/11/2012

He's the President, not one of the pipeline engineers. Your lack of understanding of what a President does is disturbing.

[mdsman]

06:03 PM on 04/11/2012

The reason that the pipes were there was that it was already in process. the section that he "fast tracked" needed no regulatory approval. It was just theater to thrill the uninformed. Do you have that warm feeling like Chris Mathews?

You say my lack of understanding is disturbing? You blind following is down right terrifying. BAAAARRRRRAAAAACCCCKKKKK!

[brianmouland]

01:53 AM on 03/23/2012

Obama celebrates the garden sprinkler without the hose

[WESmith]

08:02 PM on 03/22/2012

Paid to Bureau of Ocean Energy Management December 14, 2011
by the following for leases on a small area near Galveston, TX

Union Oil 121,755.80
ConocoPhillips 31,563,348.00
Apache Corp 338,785.40
ExxonMobil 12,658,750,00
Shell 990,371.60
Walter Oil&Gas 62,300.00
LLOG 59,600.00
Nexen Pet 124,444.40
Anadarko 3,863,422.00
Arena Energy 207,400.00
BP 5,491,761.80
Contango 41,555.40
Tana Exp 30,795.40
Plains Exp 2,556,000.00
Maersk Oil 7,202,158.40
Castex 840,000.00
Ecopetrol 1,200,000.00
Cathexis Oil 30,200.00
Hall-Houston 155,000.00
Total $67,568,443.60



Here is volume 1 chapters 1-4 (493 pages) of the proposed sales and regulations.

http://www.gomr.boemre.gov/PDFs/2011/2011-034-v1.pdf

Trying to look at the rest of the volumes:
403 - Forbidden: Access is denied.
You do not have permission to view this directory or page using the credentials that you supplied.

We The People own this property, but are not allowed to view documentations.
Royalties received are hidden and moved around often. We The People made $27 billion selling our oil in the GOM in 2008. In 2009, it was only $9 billion. 2010, BP happened. 2011?

[WESmith]

07:07 PM on 03/22/2012

The Keystone XL was proposed to transport asphaltenes, not oil. You get oil from oilsands and tar from tarsands. This is comparing apples to oranges. Besides, it will be good when gasoline gets to $4 a gallon. Last time gasoline was $4, 1700 lives were saved and over a billion dollars in healthcare was saved. Maybe at $5 a gallon, people will stop wasting 25-40% of the gasoline they purchase. As Obama says, we produce 2% of the oil and use 20% of the world's oil. 40 years ago, we were so proud of ourselves. We were going to be foreign oil free by the end of the century. By 2010, only stupid people would be driving gasoline-powered vehicles (still true).

[oneman689]

09:03 PM on 03/22/2012

WESmith - Thank you for making President Obama's agenda crystal clear.

[Bill Duckworth]

02:18 PM on 03/23/2012

Do you realize there is alread a pileline from the Sand field to Wood River, Illinois and Patoka, Illinois and from there to Oklahoma where Obama's FAST Track takes it to the Gulf.

So we sit here looking at the poltical GAME and OIL cannot lose either WAY.

people snukered again, CLEVER WINS AGAIN

[Top Level]

04:42 PM on 03/22/2012

Obama attempting to take credit for something that was already in effect without his help or support.

Obama is such a petty politician with no integrity at all.

[joefargo]

06:20 PM on 03/22/2012

It is possible that only one mile of pipe crossing the border with Canada would have to be approved by President Obama. Otherwise it is up to the states. I think we will learn after the election that the pipeline will be built in sections, saving the connecting last mile for approval by State Department.

[Bill Duckworth]

02:18 PM on 03/23/2012

I agree, he has made both Parties Crony Capitalist

[green advisor]

03:43 PM on 03/22/2012

Fact: Obama does not like, drilling permits on Federal land are down 17% from 2009.

Fact: Obama likes, Overall production of oil is up 3% over the same time period.

This is how he tells the truth but still deceives the uninformed masses

[Bill Duckworth]

02:30 PM on 03/23/2012

Both Parites are Crony Capitalist choose among the evils?

FACT CHECK: More US drilling didn’t drop gas price

The Associated Press

Thursday, March 22, 2012 | 12:19 a.m.

It's the political cure-all for high gas prices: Drill here, drill now. But more U.S. drilling has not changed how deeply the gas pump drills into your wallet, math and history show.

A statistical analysis of 36 years of monthly, inflation-adjusted gasoline prices and U.S. domestic oil production by The Associated Press shows no statistical correlation between how much oil comes out of U.S. wells and the price at the pump.

If more domestic oil drilling worked as politicians say, you'd now be paying about $2 a gallon for gasoline. Instead, you're paying the highest prices ever for March

[Vegasyankee]

01:53 PM on 03/22/2012

O can talk this up all he wants but the reality is it has nothing to do with him.  Production in this nation is enjoying a nice peak because of the actions of the former administration and what is happening in Oklahoma doesn't need any extra push from big head.  His flo ck are the only ones who believe he is responsible for any of this.

[joefargo]

04:07 PM on 03/22/2012

Get real. From 1970 - 2008 oil production steadily declined in the U.S. Since then, it has gone up almost entirely from increased production in North Dakota (triple increase '08 - '11) and Texas (40% increase '08 - '11). You may insist that Bush placed the oil in North Dakota but you will have to argue against Senator Hoeven who believes it is all due to his having been Governor. You are seriously in error when suggesting the increased production was due to President Bush. Absolutely no evidence for such an assertion.

[Change-then-hope]

04:28 PM on 03/22/2012

I dont think it has much to do with Bush or Obama. The increased production was almost entiely due to drilling on private land. It definitely has nothing to do with Obama, because permit approvals are way down during his administration. Permits issued during the last year of the Bush administration were up, so some argument could be made for Bush.

Obama is claiming credit, at the expense of all his constituents, for something he had nothing to do with--all for a few political points. The lower pipeline is already a done deal and does not rely on any Obama approvals or "fast-tracking". It is an extremely weak effort to throw the big oil people a bone. Approval is needed for the northern portion that crosses the Canadian border. He has not done that yet, and probably won't until the election is closer.

[Vegasyankee]

04:44 PM on 03/22/2012

From lease purchase to production is 8 - 10 years. Once again - O has NOTHING to do with production being up.

[Overtone]

12:54 PM on 03/22/2012

Ironically, revolutionary, cost-competitive, alternatives to oil are being born.

See Moving Beyond Oil at www.aesopinstitute.org

These are Black Swans - highly improbable innovations with enormous implications.

They are out-of-the-box and therefore hard to believe. When a few of them reach the market the price of oil may begin a permanent decline.

Solar storms that can collapse power grids and cause multiple meltdowns at nuclear plants are surprisingly likely.

As that little realized possibility becomes widely understood, decentralized Cheap Green energy will be accelerated.

Human survival, in major portions of the nation and on large parts of the planet, may depend on that happening fast enough to matter.

[Bill Duckworth]

02:38 PM on 03/23/2012

Time to slow down and smell the flowers or become ashes

I think the only time we were renewable was when we used horses than ran on GRASS and HAY

Of cours that was replaced by the Horse and Sparrow (trickledown economics)

[RIConservative]

12:52 PM on 03/22/2012

So Obama tries to stop drilling every time he can, he is unable to stop certain projects that were already in place under Bush, so he decides to take credit for them. Same thing here. And the press try to build it up as a great big feather in his cap? Yeah...right.

[Bill Duckworth]

02:41 PM on 03/23/2012

So that is why USA is drilling, fracking and all of the above more than ever before and the price of Gas is rising. We are selling it to the world instead

Just like Energy Independence. The CIA will not stop fighting wars to keep Oil out of the hands of the world, in the Middle East or elsewhere. All it accomplishes is highe prices of gas for the USA consumer.

Mission Accomplished for both parties of Crony Capitalism for the Oil Barons

[wildpitchisab]

12:46 PM on 03/22/2012

What a lying sack of .......as if he is making this happen. This is not impacting the Northern section of the pipleline at all. No permits have been granted. None! He had NOTHING to do with this. What a crock. Obama, we are sick of your lies.....your not only supressing the oil production you are lying about the 2%. We have accessible to the US more oil than Saudia Arabia. Go see the oil institutes scientific facts. Full of crap this man is. Hey Huffington Post are you going to fack check this? That's what I thought. 2012 YOUR FIRED.

[KsAPigButt]

12:30 PM on 03/22/2012

I am so disappointed in the President.

[86-44]

03:45 PM on 03/22/2012

Good for you, a lot of us are. Make your vote count by choosing ABO in November

[KsAPigButt]

07:31 PM on 03/22/2012

Sorry. I don't know what "ABO" is.

[Kittypost]

04:17 PM on 04/11/2012

It's kind of pathetic to be saying "ABO" this late in the year. But it's not quite as pathetic as that "anyone but" person is actually Romney. On second thought, I'd be really hesitant to stand behind Romney or even be vaguely connected to him too. Well, stay the course, I guess.