Keystone Pipeline Proposal Passes in the House

[duane1969]

I think the pipeline is going to happen eventually. I find it interesting that Democrats are now pushing for something that not long ago they vehemently opposed. I also like that this legislation takes the anti-American energy policies of Obama out of the equation.

Senate Democrats who had previously ignored the bill are now moving toward giving it a vote in the lame duck session, knowing that Republicans are likely to force the issue after their newly-elected majority is sworn into office in January.

The legislation would take the approval of the pipeline, which would run from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, out of the hands of President Barack Obama's administration.

His State Department -- which must approve the pipeline, since it crosses international borders -- is six years into a review of the project. Obama told reporters Friday in Myanmar that his "position hasn't changed."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/14/politi...html?hpt=hp_t2

[gsj68]

not a fan of the pipeline,why not just build a refinery in montana? i think this is all about keeping oil buddies in texas happy

[habsheaven]

I think the pipeline is an issue that the Democrats are actually split on and that is why Obama was delaying the inevitable.

[37jetson]

I want to see the Keystone Pipeline go through so we can buy more oil from our Canadian Friends instead of from people who hate us and want to wipe us off the face of the earth.

[shrewsbury]

I have no issue with a bill that creates jobs, the only thing I do not like about it, is that it will pass through native american land, and some say even burial grounds or sacred areas. not sure how I feel about that.

[duane1969]

not a fan of the pipeline,why not just build a refinery in montana? i think this is all about keeping oil buddies in texas happy

I can answer that one. Money. Refining the oil that will be coming from Canada requires a certain type of refining facility. The cost building one of those new oil refineries is somewhere in the range of $10 billion dollars. That amount alone is more than the estimated cost of $5.5-$7 billion to build the pipeline. Then toss in the cost of trucking the refined oil out of Montana to the rest of the country and the cost would be monumental over the long term as compared to just piping it down to an already existing refinery. In addition, it isn't all going to Texas. The pipeline also goes to Illinois as well and also can be process at a distribution center in Oklahoma.

I have no issue with a bill that creates jobs, the only thing I do not like about it, is that it will pass through native american land, and some say even burial grounds or sacred areas. not sure how I feel about that.

The only thing I have heard regarding burial sites is the possibility, not the probability that it would pass through them.

As for Native Americans being concerned over it passing through their land, pollution, etc., I am not buying it. If we were talking about building a casino they would be all for it. Their concern for the sacredness of their land is relevant to how much money they will get from it. Drop $50 million in a bank account to provide them with assistance programs, college tuition, etc. and they will suddenly forget how much they care about the sacred land.

[gsj68]

I can answer that one. Money. Refining the oil that will be coming from Canada requires a certain type of refining facility. The cost building one of those new oil refineries is somewhere in the range of $10 billion dollars. That amount alone is more than the estimated cost of $5.5-$7 billion to build the pipeline. Then toss in the cost of trucking the refined oil out of Montana to the rest of the country and the cost would be monumental over the long term as compared to just piping it down to an already existing refinery. In addition, it isn't all going to Texas. The pipeline also goes to Illinois as well and also can be process at a distribution center in Oklahoma.



The only thing I have heard regarding burial sites is the possibility, not the probability that it would pass through them.

As for Native Americans being concerned over it passing through their land, pollution, etc., I am not buying it. If we were talking about building a casino they would be all for it. Their concern for the sacredness of their land is relevant to how much money they will get from it. Drop $50 million in a bank account to provide them with assistance programs, college tuition, etc. and they will suddenly forget how much they care about the sacred land.

i heard it was because of todays e.p.a. regulations that it would be near impossible to build a new refinery,i just dont like pipelines,if its underground its prone to long term leaks and above its a target and the gas seems to show up in a truck at the gas station anyways

why doesnt canada build a refinery?

[GroundSupport]

Hey a Job Creator and who is blocking it?

Liberals.

[37jetson]

why doesnt canada build a refinery?

This is a very interesting question. I do not know much about the benefits of a refinery versus the pipeline, but would like to learn more.

[duane1969]

why doesnt canada build a refinery?

That seems like a simple solution. It isn't that easy. For starters it takes years to build a refinery and as I already pointed out, it takes about $10 billion dollars too. The time + cost is the primary reason that a new refinery hasn't been built in Canada since 1984 and not since 1976 in the U.S.

Then toss in that we are talking about Alberta here. No businessman in his right mind would spend $10 billion to build a refinery only to watch his profits go down the drain in costs to transport the refined oil out of Alberta. Do you have any idea how expensive it would be to truck refined oil out of Alberta 8-9000 gallons at a time? The average refinery can process upwards of 150,000 barrels per day. A barrel is 42 gallons, so that is 630,000 gallons per day. That alone would take a minimum of 70 tractor trailers to transport every single day. If you know anything about trucking then you know a trucker can only drive 10 hours per day, so you would need multiple drivers per truck and WAY more than 70 trucks since a truck couldn't make the round trip to the coast and back in less than 24 hours. I don't have the time or the knowledge to do the math, but I bet there would be virtually zero profit after all of the transportation costs.