I thought the big deal in not “doing” the Keystone was that it crossed “precious aquifers” which a pipeline leak might contaminate.
That is a red herring thrown out to people who won't look at a map.
Posted on 03/27/2012 8:56:42 AM PDT by thackney
Amid political turmoil surrounding the Keystone XL pipeline, two companies announced plans to create a rival system to bring crude oil from Canada and the northern United States to the Gulf Coast.
The move is a response to mounting supply pressure in the north, where advances in drilling technology have heralded an oil boom that has created a glut of landlocked crude with limited transportation options.
Enbridge, Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, and Enterprise Products Partners L.P., of Houston, will collaborate on a $2 billion pipeline from Cushing, Okla., to the Houston area, according to an announcement late Monday. Enbridge will spend $1.9 to $2.8 billion to build another pipeline, from Flanagan, Ill. to Cushing, which would link it to an existing route from Canada and offer access to oil producers in the northern United States. Oil produced in the Bakken shale, including areas in North Dakota and Montana, could be shipped through the pipeline.
The pipelines don’t require the same federal approval as Keystone XL because they will not cross national borders. TransCanada’s plan to build its Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast was rejected by the Obama administration because it said it did not have enough time to review it before a deadline set by Congress.
The Flanagan South pipeline, which will make up the northern leg of the announced pipeline system, will be 36 inches in diameter and have capacity of 585,000 barrels a day of oil when it is completed, likely in mid-2014, according to Enbridge. It will run alongside another existing pipeline.
Enbridge and Enterprise jointly own the Seaway, a pipeline that has moved oil from the Houston area to Cushing, but the partners are working to reverse the flow to carry products south. The new line would run parallel to the existing one and would create a combined southward capacity of 850,000 barrels a day of oil from Cushing to the Gulf Coast, Enbridge CEO Patrick D. Daniel said in the announcement.
“Enbridge’s Gulf Coast access projects give Bakken and western Canadian producers timely, economical and reliable options to deliver a variety of crudes to refinery hubs throughout the heart of North America and now as far as the Gulf Coast,” he said.
Currently, oil produced in the northern areas that are not accessible by substantial pipeline capacity is selling at a substantial discount to world crude.
Related article:
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/03/27/enbridge-venture-plans-oil-pipes-to-gulf-as-keystone-blocked/
link only due to Bloomberg content
All right, now I’m confused (more than usual, that is). Why all the emphasis on a pipeline(s) from Cushing to Houston?? How does the oil GET TO Cushing?? I thought the big deal in not “doing” the Keystone was that it crossed “precious aquifers” which a pipeline leak might contaminate.
I think that's why we are "only" paying $3.65 per gallon in Denver where it is 20% more on the coasts.
Existing pipelines will have to move crude from Alberta to the tie-in.
+20%???
Maybe at some markets with higher tax rates, but we are not paying that down at the Gulf Coast where this will be shipped.
Purposed Flanagan South Pipeline Project:
I thought the big deal in not “doing” the Keystone was that it crossed “precious aquifers” which a pipeline leak might contaminate.
That is a red herring thrown out to people who won't look at a map.
20%...
Take a look at:
http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx
You can see that it is not just location making the big price differences. Taxes drive it far more than the shipping distances.
They’re just doing what they said they would do. If O won’t let them build it north to south, they’ll build it south to north.
By the time they get to the final piece that crosses the border, he’ll be gone.
Anyway, they are busy building more pipelines up on the northern end, including pipelines taking Bakken oil into Canada. So in the end they’ll get the whole thing done.
And when they do, after O has fought them all the way, he’ll take credit for it of course. Thats how he rolls. He’ll refuse you permission and then take credit for what he couldn’t stop.
Screw the Unions
” TransCanada’s plan to build its Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast was rejected by the Obama administration because it said it did not have enough time to review it before a deadline set by Congress. “
Yeah, sure.
Well, I can't see how a pipeline from Oklahoma to the Gulf Coast goes anywhere near Nebraska, existing pipeline or not. Without the "missing link" from the Canadian border to Cushing, I don't see how the Cushing-Houston tie does anything.
Cool maps. Thanks for the info. No surprise that the Dems lied about the aquifer.
They are in effect breaking it up into several different projects. Once complete, you'll have a continuous pipeline all the way. If they do it that way, they get it built. Some of the other pieces are already being built or about to be built.
With North Dakota's substantial contribution (now ranked third in monthly production), the pipelines just can't carry enough oil, so there are unit trains and even haul trucks moving crude oil.
The 'discount' spoken of means oil production companies are getting paid as much as $30 less than spot for the oil (usually at par with WTI) at the wellhead because of transportation costs/issues.
Expanding the pipeline capacity by running additional lines alongside the existing ones does two things: Increases capacity, and dodges the EPA bullet by utilizing routes which have already been approved. Those lines will be north of Cushing, OK.
Which is the missing key datum. Parallel pipelines NORTH of Cushing make sense in avoiding the "environmental evil excuse" that the Obama socialists are using to stall things.
Now I wonder what "new" excuse they will come up with.
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