YES DOOFUS, BUT IF something happens in IRAN it becomes flipping irrelevent IF we have our own domestic SUPPLY you friggin moron because we won’t have to RELY on the “global” market if it isn’t going to reflect our prices.
I think that I can sort of clarify what Obama was thinking. I am in no way agreeing with him, just trying to make a little sense of what he was saying.
Up until this pipeline is connected and reversed, the oil from the Baaken field was all going to a single refinery in OK, operated by CONOCO Phillips. The lower leg of the pipeline was owned by CONOCO PHILLIPS and used to carry oil FROM the Gulf coast to the OK refinery. It isn’t needed anymore, so CONOCO sold the pipeline and the direction of flow will be reversed.
The lack of outlet for the Baaken oil was causing a glut of oil in the Mid West and keeping oil prices artificially low. Without the accompanying Canadian oil, the connection of this pipeline could actually increase the price of oil by allowing the Baaken oil to trade on the world market.
If the Keystone pipelne is connected to Canada, the affect might not be as great. We have to face the fact that the precarious situation in the Middle East is what is causing the steep rise in the price of oil.
My guess is that LaGarde told Obama that they European countries could not afford the Iranian sanctions and that his energy policies were exacerbating the not only the shortage of oil but world tensions.