American Petroleum Institute chief Jack Gerard discusses prospects for energy policy under new Congress. (OnPoint, 11/14/2012)
EnergyWire reporter Peter Behr discusses infrastructure issues surrounding LNG exports, Keystone XL. (OnPoint, 03/08/2012)
Consumer Energy Alliance's Michael Whatley says Keystone XL would serve interest of American consumers. (OnPoint, 02/06/2012)
With the heft to carry half a million barrels of oil daily, the $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline is a huge proposal. But behind the furor over it lies an even bigger question: How should America approach the massive fuel reserves that its northern neighbor is working overtime to tap?
International environmental groups today released two reports detailing the likely climate costs of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline in a last-minute attempt to persuade the Obama administration not to approve it.
Their pitch: Building the proposed pipeline to carry 830,000 barrels of Canadian oil sands oil a day to U.S. refineries will ensure the expansion of some of the highest-carbon fuels now in use while delaying a switch to more climate-friendly alternatives.
Carbon dioxide emissions from the proposed Keystone XL pipeline and the Canadian oil sands are far higher than current estimates because of the impact of a byproduct from the oil refining process, according to a new study being released this morning.
The report from Oil Change International, an anti-fossil fuel group, finds that the TransCanada pipeline's projected annual emissions are 13 percent above current projections from the U.S. State Department.
The future of Canadian oil sands hinges on finding new markets that can help the heavy crude escape competition with tight oil supplies from the United States, according to a new report.
The assessment, authored by consultant IHS CERA with input from Canadian oil sands players, underscores constraints and delays that could drag down the growth trajectory of oil sands development, including competition with U.S. shale oil production that has a lower greenhouse gas footprint and is better linked to export markets.
| 08/26/2011 | OIL SANDS: Canada-U.S. pipeline poses few environmental risks -- State Dept.The $7 billion Keystone XL oil pipeline cleared a key hurdle today, as the State Department finalized an environmental review that found limited hazards from the controversial Canada-to-U.S. project. |  Greenwire |
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| 08/23/2011 | OIL SANDS: With emotions high and evidence low, pipeline corrosion questions hound Keystone XLOUTSIDE FORT McMURRAY, Alberta -- Hold a vial of pumped and processed oil to the light here, just before it enters the pipeline that one executive jokingly calls "the cash register," and you can see a layer of watery sediment settled at the bottom. Environmental and safety groups warn that this diluted bitumen poses a greater risk of pipeline corrosion and spills than conventional fuel or the synthetic crude also produced from the Canadian oil sands. | Greenwire |
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| 08/19/2011 | OIL AND GAS: Protest makes Keystone XL newest front in climate clashIn the year since a cap-and-trade climate bill failed on Capitol Hill, a funny thing happened -- gradually but unmistakably -- to the U.S.-Canada pipeline project known as Keystone XL: It became the global warming fight's new guise. Keystone XL's ascension from little-known commodity to fodder for a marquee bout between industry groups and environmentalists is set to start its last leg tomorrow, as green advocates converge on the White House for a two-week demonstration against the $7 billion proposal. | Greenwire |
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| 08/16/2011 | OIL AND GAS: Reclaimed dump sparks oil sands sustainability debateWOOD BUFFALO, Alberta -- Along the verdant knolls and shallow streams of Wapisiw Lookout, foxes scamper and raptors nest amid newly planted trees. If not for the refinery flares in the distance and the checkpoint that screens visitors to Wapisiw, one might forget that the grassy 550-acre landscape spent the past four decades as a waste pond for Canada's largest energy company. | Greenwire |
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