Keystone XL’s final environmental review

The US Department of State's latest environmental analysis of TransCanada Corporation’s controversial Keystone XL pipeline has revealed that the project would have a minimal impact on the environment. The report's conclusions are consistent with results contained in four previous environmental reviews of Keystone XL dating back to the spring of 2010.

"The environmental analysis of Keystone XL once again supports the science that this pipeline would have minimal impact on the environment," said Russ Girling, TransCanada's President and Chief Executive Officer. "The next step is making a decision on a presidential permit for Keystone XL. I believe that this project continues to be in the national interest of the United States for two main reasons: supporting US energy security and the thousands of jobs our multi-billion dollar project will create."

Girling added that, according to the US Energy Information Administration and the International Energy Agency, the US will continue to require millions of barrels of oil to be imported every day to meet its own needs for decades. "It just makes sense for more of that supply to come from right here in North America," said Girling. "Let's get this done – it's time to bring over five years of regulatory review to an end and build this critical new piece of North American energy infrastructure."

Environmental report conclusions

The Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement drew the following conclusions:

• Keystone XL is "unlikely to significantly impact the rate of extraction in the oil sands or the continued demand for heavy crude oil at refineries in the US based on expected oil prices, oil sands supply costs, transports costs and supply-demand scenarios."
• Rail, along with ocean tanker and other pipeline alternatives, exist to transport crude oil from the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin and Bakken region to refineries in the Gulf Coast. All other alternatives to Keystone XL are less efficient methods of transporting crude oil, resulting in significantly more greenhouse gas emissions, oil spills and risks to public safety.
• The incorporation of 59 special conditions and dozens of other extra spill prevention and mitigation measures will ensure that Keystone XL will "have a degree of safety over any other typically constructed domestic oil pipeline system under current code."
• Keystone XL will support approximately 42 100 direct, indirect and induced jobs and approximately US$ 2 billion in earnings throughout the US. It would contribute approximately US$ 3.4 billion to US gross domestic product (GDP) and provide a substantial increase in tax revenues for local counties along the pipeline route, with 17 of 27 counties expected to see tax revenues increase by 10% or more.

Domestic support

"It was North American producers and refiners who asked TransCanada to build Keystone XL and connect their refineries with Canadian and US oilfields," commented Girling. "They need the oil from this pipeline system to create products we all rely on – fuel for our vehicles, heat and air conditioning for our homes, diesel for farm tractors and heavy equipment, and thousands of consumer products that are made from petroleum-based products."

Girling added that Keystone XL is "not about energy versus the environment; it's about where Americans want to get their oil. Keystone XL will displace heavy oil from places such as the Middle East and Venezuela and of the top five regions the US imports oil from, only Canada has substantial greenhouse gas regulations in place."

Boosting the economy

Keystone XL is currently the largest infrastructure project in the works in the US and will benefit American families and the economy. In addition to the 9000 construction jobs the pipeline would create, local contractors and local businesses in the counties along the pipeline's route will benefit as well. To date, TransCanada has entered into contracts for Keystone XL with over 50 suppliers across the US and invested more than US$ 2 billion to purchase materials and related services for items ranging from the steel pipe and thousands of valves and fittings, to transformers and large electric motors for pumping stations and cabling and electrical equipment to connect the vast pipeline monitoring systems.

Safety as a priority

Girling said that the main focus for TransCanada will be ensuring the pipeline is one of the safest and most technologically advanced pipelines in North America. "No other company has agreed to operate with all of the additional safety and operating procedures that TransCanada has," he said. "That speaks volumes to our commitment to minimising the impact of our pipeline, and ultimately to the environment and communities it will operate through."

TransCanada's existing Keystone pipeline has safely and reliably delivered more than 550 million bbls of crude oil from Canada to refinery markets in the US Midwest since it began operation in July 2010.

Adapted from press release by Rosalie Starling

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/07022014/final_environmental_review_reveals_that_keystone_xl_should_be_approved_72/