TransCanada Applies For Keystone XL Pipeline Permit

* TransCanada submits Presidential permit application

* Company to outline new Nebraska route later

* Pipeline was put on hold over environmental concerns

May 4 (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp has asked the U.S. government for approval to build the $7.6 billion Keystone XL oil pipeline, which has been put on hold due to environmental concerns.

The company said in a statement on Friday that it has submitted an application with the U.S. Department of State for the pipeline from the United States and Canada border in Montana to Steele City, Nebraska.

TransCanada said it will choose an alternative route through Nebraska to avoid an environmentally sensitive area.

The pipeline, put on hold by U.S. President Barack Obama earlier this year, has become an outsized political symbol heading into the November elections as Republicans use it to attack Obama's economic and energy policies.

Environmental groups have vehemently opposed Keystone over the risk posed by spills from the pipeline and on the basis that crude from Canada's oil sands is dirtier than other types of crude oil.

Alberta, Canada's richest province, derives about a third of its revenue from its vast reserves of oil and natural gas. Its oil sands are the world's third-largest crude storehouse, and it is the single biggest supplier of energy to the United States.

TransCanada argues that its environmental review process was sound and should allow for the permit to be processed quickly.

"Our application for a Presidential permit builds on more than three years of environmental review already conducted for Keystone XL," said TransCanada Chief Executive Russ Girling in the company's statement. "It was the most comprehensive process ever for a cross-border pipeline."

The entire project would take more than two years to build once permits were in hand. TransCanada said last month that it hopes to have the project up and running by late 2014 or early 2015.

Also on HuffPost:

From our partners

• Widespread Greenland Melting A Sign Of Things To Come - Climate Central
• Limiting Methane Leaks Critical To Gas, Climate Benefits - Climate Central
• 11 Images And Facts About A Misunderstood Creature - Mother Nature Network

Comments

[Bob Roe]

11:36 AM on 05/12/2012

WESmith has nailed it in my opinion, and here's the reality check for most of the rest: A) Athabasca oil sands, one of world's largest oil resources, albeit one that has to be mined and steam-heated by Big Oil companies (primarily American) to pump it to US Gulf Coast refineries (primarily American) for consumption by the world's most excessive consumers (obviously American, who consume 20% of global supply and have already burned up all the easily-extractable carbon- based fuels, transferring wealth to other countries, like China, so that the Athabasca oil sands will be mined/pumped/refined/exported by PetroChina when the resource is depleted in about two centuries; and B) the Ogallala Aquifer, once the world's largest and greatest aquifer, will be depleted this century, having been pumped out to irrigate a low-unit value crop (wheat) that we already have in oversupply for export to Eastern Europe so that Boris and Natasha can enjoy cheap bread. Multi-billion dollar companies don't need to "put money in Escrow" when there are environmental laws to enforce their cleanup of any spills, which in comparison to all the environmental degradation that WE (not the oil companies or TransCanada or anyone else making a profit thanks our excess) are ultimately responsible for. As Pogo famously said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

[Bluetiger]

08:51 PM on 05/07/2012

The new route doesn't change what they need to do. They as businessmen need to put money in Escrow to cover any potential spill. The gulf taught us that. Money up front and in a third party's hands. They can have it back if everything they do is perfect.

[WESmith]

11:26 PM on 05/06/2012

Why don't they just pour the stuff out on the ground, run over it with a steamroller like we have been doing in the US for a hundred years? We have tens of thousands of miles of roads made out of this same stuff. And We Americans spill millions of gallons of oil, gasoline, diesel and antifreeze on these roads each and every year. Fortunately, rain washes this sludge into the environment or our roads would be too slick to drive on. In areas where there isn't enough rainfall, they spray water on the roads, followed by huge sweepers.

[Bradley Scott Roon]

11:28 AM on 05/06/2012

This is NOT an outsized political issue. It is fundamentally a bad idea that will make a class of wealthy parasites increased profits at the environmental and personal expense of American citizens, but more importantly, people.
There is tremendous antagonism to this pipeline. It is NOT necessary. Some imply it is and yet the pipeline is not in place, the dirty oil is going nowhere through Nebraska, and the world still turns.
Keystone players last time were literally evicting farmers along the proposed route prior to their having permission to build the damb thing. There are better alternatives, including no pipeline whatsoever.
Who thinks that simply some oil exists (or any resource) that a corporation has the inherent right to shove their profit - making choices down the people's throats even when that decision damages us?

[Kev Bat]

10:37 AM on 05/06/2012

Very telling fact is that many oil producing countries now use cheaper propane to run their cars.

[WESmith]

11:35 PM on 05/06/2012

We use to do that in the 40s and 50s. In the 1970s, we had electric cars. We had alternative fuel vehicles. We had hybrids. Mother Earth News had plans on building hybrids for under $1000, We had Gasohol (10% alcohol). But then We The People nationalized oil in 1977. We got greedy. We enjoy making more profit from oil than than all 13,000 American oil companies combined. For every $5 billion in net profit of an oil company, $30 billion in taxes come straight out of our pockets. We must enjoy this as we are asking to raise taxes on oil companies. Oil companies are not alive. They don't pay taxes anymore than our checkbook register. The money comes from us.

[ModMark]

07:36 AM on 05/07/2012

A major source of propane comes from oil refineries. It is a byproduct of the refinery process.

[mlaiuppa]

09:09 PM on 05/05/2012

Why don't they take their money and build a refinery right next to their tar sands?

[jimme]

12:40 AM on 05/06/2012

Then they'd be stuck with the hazardous waste, something the pols forget to tell the people.

[WESmith]

11:41 PM on 05/06/2012

Refineries are not very profitable. Valero, the largest refining company in the US, has a 1.7% profit margin. (Microsoft has a 33.4% profit margin). When gasoline was $4 the time before this Spring, they almost went bankrupt. They are trying to sell several of their refineries. Anyone interested? If we weren't so addicted to gasoline, most refineries would have closed by now.

[ModMark]

03:58 PM on 05/05/2012

Concerning the exporting of tar sand oil (which may include Bakken oil), I posted a link showing the major crude pipelines in the US/Canada. The map show why we have a major glut of oil in the Midwest.

What is missing, major crude lines feeding California ie: south of San Francisco. With crude oil pipelines, you must connect the dots ie: refineries.

Would Oregon, Washington and California allow the construction of a major crude oil pipeline thru their states? The environmentalist are fighting solar panels in the desert, building a pipeline would be a nightmare.

Bottom line, the oil companies have no choice but export a portion of this oil as gasoline.

http://www.capp.ca/getdoc.aspx?DocID=191097

[WESmith]

11:51 PM on 05/06/2012

Gasoline is a waste product. It is what is left over after all of the profitable products are refined. Refineries are lucky to make a nickel a gallon. Refineries are lucky to find people stupid enough to buy the stuff. With the new low-sulfur diesel, more gasoline is produced. If they can't find a buyer, they would have to dispose the gasoline. Then the price of diesel would go up. Then the price of most everything would go up. Then millions of truckers would lose their jobs because people aren't subsidizing diesel by purchasing gasoline.
There are tens of thousands of miles of oil pipelines all over the US. The Keystone XL is not an oil pipeline as the product they get from TARsands is not oil. If it was, they would just pump it through one of the thousands of existing oil pipelines

[ModMark]

07:20 AM on 05/07/2012

"Gasoline is a waste product."

For refineries, gasoline is the primary product, While the profit margin on gasoline may be low, the refineries make a profit with high volumes.

Tradition the lower grade fuels are the "waste product" from oil. The oil which cannot be refined into gasoline ends up as diesel or fuel oil for our homes. With advances in the refinery process, more oil can be 'crack' into gasoline which reduces supplies of diesel. As it should be, diesel is more expensive than gasoline (diesel has a higher energy content).

There are existing pipeline which have been converted to tar sand oil. I know of line in Michigan which switched from refined products to crude oil. The pump station required modification but the pipeline itself was not modified.

[campcranston]

01:34 PM on 05/05/2012

Shut em down! Water is worth more than oil, let's not wait until it's too late to realize that. Jeopardizing America's water for Canada's profit is a horrible horrible idea.

[g9]

05:33 PM on 05/05/2012

Canada was once known as the Saudi Arabia of clean water....

[jimme]

12:41 AM on 05/06/2012

Key part, was once.

[smallpawsdk]

11:08 AM on 05/05/2012

Run it thru your own back yard.

[Gerald Leddin]

09:49 AM on 05/05/2012

The truth is, we do not need the oil for fuel. Grass root developement of hydrogen cells has made them extremely efficient. Since large corporations like Oil, Media and the rest, are all in it together to profit, they continue to help each other to keep it going. If our government was not so corrupted by these very same Corporations, we could have an amazing future. That's why I'm voting for Ron Paul and anyone who wants to be free of this corruption should do the same. The corporate world know they cannot buy integrity!

[ModMark]

11:34 AM on 05/05/2012

No need for expensive hydrogen fuel cells, just burn hydrogen in internal combustion engines. BMW already offers a dual fuel car but it is quite expensive.

How to produce and distribute hydrogen is the issue. And if hydrogen becomes a viable fuel in the future, there is a good chance we will be buying it from Exxon. They have the resources to build the infrastructure required.

[ModMark]

09:42 AM on 05/05/2012

FYI, the northern section of the Keystone line will be connected to the Bakken oil fields. Currently alot of the Bakken oil is being shipped by trains.

Long term, a pipeline will have less impact on the environment than the 1,000's of tanker cars being used daily.

[ConservativeSuperstar]

08:28 AM on 05/05/2012

Excellent.

obama is in a no-win situation. If he rejects the pipeline, he makes a vast majority of the people mad. If he approves the pipeline, he alienates his fringe base. They will not turn out for him in November.

[ModMark]

09:35 AM on 05/05/2012

Just like the conservatives who will vote for a RINO this year, the lefties have no choice and will vote for Obama.

Pandering to your base does not win election, you need the independent voters such as myself. And independent voters support this pipeline, in my opinion of course.

This is a win situation for Obama, he addressed the environmental issues by rerouting the pipeline around the aquifer. And he eliminates any attacks from the right, he supports oil development.

Don't underestimate Obama, he is an politician.

[windwisper]

02:21 PM on 05/05/2012

You got one thing right Obama is a politician period. He is out for votes and doesn't care who he steps on to get them. The main problem with this pipeline is that the oil is not for consumption in the US it is going to be sent overseas to China and other Asian countries. It will not help our economy nor the price we pay at the pump. Since Obama is really nothing more than a smooth fast talking non-praticing lawyer he will try to sell out the American public for as many votes as possible. There are other dangers that this pipeline presents that have not been addressed such as endangered animals, habitat destruction, and the long unsightly pipes spread across our country.

[blurredmolly]

01:06 PM on 05/05/2012

the President put the brakes on it to study the environmental impact. and how much of this oil do we keep?

[Roman238]

01:57 AM on 05/05/2012

What's really sad? You see an article about Octomom, or some other meaningless drivel, and it will have 3.500 comments...this one has only 35. Very sad, what most people consider to be important.

[Mailman]

07:44 AM on 05/05/2012

That's because even Stevie Wonder saw the train wreck coming with Octomom and very few would say this is really bad. Keystone is great for our country and we need the oil and jobs.

[smallpawsdk]

11:15 AM on 05/05/2012

We won't get any of that oil and the jobs are boggest. The ones who'll get the few jobs there are are the Canadians.

[blurredmolly]

01:07 PM on 05/05/2012

we don't keep the oil. if you are on the "Drill, Baby, Drill" bandwagon, the only way it works is if we "Keep, Baby, Keep". nationalize the supply and hire Exxon to refine it.

[Gerald Leddin]

09:28 AM on 05/05/2012

It is the effect of mass dumbing down by the Television media, we are being taken over by Corporations and Banks.

[K August]

08:44 PM on 05/05/2012

Yep, and governments are way down at the bottom......
Have you watched ThriveMovement........the movie?
It's really interesting........it's what a lot of us have known all along.

It's not left or right.....it's about taking back our right to life without corporate or banker control. Clean food, water, free energy was the real interesting part.

[Roman238]

01:11 AM on 05/05/2012

Let's look at the facts: TransCanada acquired Keystone to gain rights to eminent domain so they could force people off of the land that was/is on their proposed route. PetroChina, the worlds largest publicly traded oil & gas company, bought 45% of the land that belongs to The First Indian Nation in Canada, thereby securing the rights to build the westward pipeline & to extract the tar sands oil, while destroying the Boreal Forest and all it's wildlife. Meanwhile, the construction of the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline in the U.S. is moving ahead as scheduled. Add to this the fact that our government signed the Free Trade Agreement with Panama, and they are currently widening the Panama Canal. Tar sands oil must be thinned to allow it to flow more freely. One method of achieving this is with liquid natural gas. Enter the billionaire Koch brothers. One way or another, the disastrous Keystone XL pipeline will happen, whether we like it or not. And we taxpayers will help fund it through a proposed 1.4 cent per gallon Federal Excise Tax on every gallon of gas we buy. All for oil that is destined for China. Welcome to life in America, the land of the fee & the home of the knave. So sad.

[diabeticdeath]

06:37 AM on 05/05/2012

we are funding the growth of china for there eventual military invasion of our country

[blurredmolly]

01:08 PM on 05/05/2012

uh....with all the guns in this country? that is highly unlikely.

[ModMark]

01:51 PM on 05/05/2012

And China will be defeated by our new super hero, Captain Walmart!

[ModMark]

08:50 AM on 05/05/2012

First, the tar sand operation is a tiny speck in the Boreal Forest of Canada. I would be more concerned with logging operation than the pipeline.

We currently have an oil distribution problem in the Midwest, there is a glut of oil from the tar sand and Bakken areas. The refineries in the Midwest are well supplied and production from the Bakken and tar sand is expected to increase.

The bottom line is, we got to get this oil out of the Midwest market.

Once the Keystone lines are completed, it will be possible to ship oil to Texas and connect to existing pipeline which can feed the coast states.

And yes, gasoline will be exported to South America.

[Gerald Leddin]

09:37 AM on 05/05/2012

This tiny speck you refer to is already the size of one of our smaller states. And, it is poisoning the water there. But who needs a planet when there's money to be made. Hydrogen fuel has a strong grass roots developement and the billions being wasted to keep oil going is just sick. Anyone who promotes oil is connected with it and making money from it.

[Roman238]

01:11 PM on 05/05/2012

None of this filthy oil is meant for the American market. Not one drop. The only ones who will benefit are the oil and gas companies. The American people will not gain a thing.

[mangez merde]

12:45 AM on 05/05/2012

A couple of simple facts.

The USA already refines significantly more gasoline than American's consume.

This should depress gas prices, but the oil companies sell the excess overseas to keep gas prices high in the USA.

The Keystone pipeline will NOT affect the price of gasoline for 2 reasons.
01. All the oil is already contracted to China.
02. As stated above more excess gasoline would be sold overseas.

However, the actions of Big Oil does qualify them to be classified as terrorist organizations.

[diabeticdeath]

06:41 AM on 05/05/2012

outside of russia, north america is the last saudi arabia. china is licking its chops for our natural resources

[blurredmolly]

01:09 PM on 05/05/2012

then, as a hemisphere, we should keep it for our own use.

[ModMark]

08:59 AM on 05/05/2012

"01. All the oil is already contracted to China."

How are you going to deliver crude oil from Texas to China? Chaves would love to sell Venezuela oil to China but shipping it around Cape Horn does not make economic sense.

Now selling gasoline to South America which lacks refineries does make sense.

[windwisper]

02:28 PM on 05/05/2012

That is why they are widening the Panama canal so that oil tankers can pass through and not have to travel around Cape Horn.

[mangez merde]

06:12 PM on 05/05/2012

Hello!!!!!!!!

That is why the pipeline goes to Texas !!!!

Raw oil from Canada refined in Texas then sold to China as finished gasoline.