Free Republic

Pipelines used to be things that were just built without blinking. It is said that there are enough pipelines now in the US to encircle the Earth 25 times with enough left over to also tie a bow around it. Today, getting a pipeline built is not so easy - there are too many environmental concerns and the industry has become highly polarized. But here’s one thing that could bring everyone together: pipeline safety technology. And it’s something we all want, especially for those who live along the thousands of miles of aging pipeline routes that carry hazardous liquids. Spawned...

Tune in Tuesday night to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address. As the president speaks, he will be alert to the chorus of Hollywood stars, environmental activists, editorial writers and industry leaders who are pushing for him to make the biggest climate-change decision he can possibly make: Impose a carbon tax.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Eight people were arrested Monday at a construction site for the Keystone XL oil pipeline in central Oklahoma, including one man who locked himself to a crane-like piece of machinery, authorities said. The two women and six men were arrested on trespassing complaints at the site near the town of Schoolton, Seminole County sheriff's Chief Deputy Chris Conn said. On woman also was cited for resisting arrest. None of their names has been released. "We had several individuals on private property who refused to leave, and they were arrested for trespassing," Conn said. "One individual was...

Canadians worried US president won’t honor Nebraska governor’s decision The Canadian government has suddenly turned edgy about hopes of seeing TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline clearing its final regulatory hurdle and spreading fresh optimism among Alberta oil sands and Bakken producers. Now that Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has sent a letter to President Barack Obama endorsing TransCanada’s proposed rerouting of the pipeline to avoid the state’s ecologically sensitive Sandhills region, the final verdict rests with the U.S. State Department which must issue a Presidential Permit for any pipeline crossing the Canada-U.S. border. At the same time a letter signed by 53...

Republicans jumped on the news that the Obama administration is delaying judgment on the Keystone XL pipeline by another six months. “Americans have already waited >4yrs for #KXL, time for POTUS to say ‘yes,’” said a 11:14 a.m. tweet from the office of House Speaker Rep. John Boehner. Americans have already waited >4yrs for #KXL, time for POTUS to say “yes” #4jobs j.mp/WCTYV3 via @housecommerce — Speaker John Boehner (@SpeakerBoehner) February 1, 2013

WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The Obama administration's decision on the Keystone XL oil pipeline will not be made until at least June, a U.S. official said, which would delay the project for months and frustrate backers of Canada's oil sands. "We're talking the beginning of summer at the earliest," said the source, who did not want to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the TransCanada Corp project, which has been pending for more than four and a half years. "It's not weeks until the final decision. It's months." A series of steps still have to be taken...

Kinder Morgan Energy Partners has advanced its position in the North American shale race adding another 6,900 miles of pipelines and nine processing plants to its empire. Kinder’s deal to purchase Copano Energy for $3.9 billion, announced late Tuesday, will expand its its 46,000-mile pipeline network and, perhaps more important, will give it processing capabilities in key shales plays including the Eagle Ford in South Texas. “Copano gives us a great platform in the Eagle Ford,” partnership President Park Shaper said Wednesday. The pipeline giant announced late Tuesday night that it would buy midstream natural gas company Copano Energy for...

Canadian provincial premier, 10 state governors, seek Keystone pipeline decision The sense of urgency among Canadian governments and oil producers facing a crude transportation bottleneck and the looming prospect of shut-ins has prompted one provincial premier to join 10 U.S. state governors in urging President Barack Obama to end procrastination and approve TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline. “The energy relationship between the United States and Canada is vital to both our countries. It is an interest we share, transcending political lines and geographic boundaries,” the leaders said in a letter to Obama, hoping to gain the president’s attention as he embarks...

Barack Obama faced intense pressure to break with his inauguration day promise on climate change on Thursday, after a bipartisan majority in the Senate urged approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. The letter from 53 senators said there was no reason for Obama to deny the pipeline – as campaigners are demanding – because the project had now undergone exhaustive environmental review. The letter, signed by Democrats as well as Republicans, underlined the high political cost to Obama of living up to his promise to act on climate change. Campaign groups have made the pipeline their signature issue, saying the...

More than half the Senate on Wednesday urged quick approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, ramping up pressure on President Barack Obama to move ahead with the project just days after he promised in his inaugural address to respond vigorously to the threat of climate change. A letter signed by 53 senators said Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman’s approval of a revised route through his state puts the long-delayed project squarely in the president's hands. “We urge you to choose jobs, economic development and American energy security,” the letter said, adding that the pipeline “has gone through the most exhaustive...

How long has it been since we heard anything about the Keystone Pipeline? It's been months since it was in the news, with President Obama declining to approve the original route, due to environmental concerns (is there any other reason?) and saying more study needed to be done on the alternate routes that had been proposed. All of those excuses ended yesterday with the final approval of Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman for the new route. Governor Heineman has even sent a letter to President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, asking them to expedite their approval of the Keystone...

Washington-The Obama administration has delayed a decision on TransCanada Corp´s rerouted Keystone XL oil pipeline until after March, even though Nebraska´s governor on Tuesday approved a plan for part of the line running through his state. "We don´t anticipate being able to conclude our own review before the end of the first quarter of this year," said Victoria Nuland, a spokeswoman at the State Department, which had previously said it would make a decision by that deadline. She said the department would take into consideration approval of the line by Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman.

BREAKING: Governor approves new oil pipeline route....... LINCOLN — Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman has approved the rerouted Keystone XL oil pipeline path through Nebraska, putting the final decision squarely in the lap of President Obama’s administration. snip

The steep price discount facing Alberta crude is jeopardizing the Redford government’s projection of collecting $10 billion in bitumen revenue by 2014-15, as fewer oilsands projects are expected to graduate into paying higher royalties in the short term, says Energy Minister Ken Hughes. In last spring’s budget, the Tory government predicted it would collect a gusher from the province’s 108 oilsands projects, with bitumen royalties hitting $5.7 billion this year and climbing by an average of 32 per cent in each of the following two years — driven by rising production and expectations of higher commodity prices. Rising prices would...

The Seaway Crude Oil Pipeline Co. has taken the biggest step so far toward reducing transportation bottlenecks between the U.S. Midwest and the Gulf Coast, setting the stage for significant changes by mid-2014 that will bring relief to Bakken producers. The 50-50 joint venture by affiliates of Enbridge and Enterprise Products Partners has completed a reversal of 500 miles of the Seaway system, increasing the flow between Cushing, Okla., and Houston to 400,000 barrels per day from 150,000 bpd. The partnership is now targeting 850,000 bpd by the first quarter of 2014 when it introduces a new twin line parallel...

Full Title: Upcoming Pipeline Capacity Additions Will Facilitate Continued Growth in Crude Oil Shipments from Midwest to Gulf Coast This Week in Petroleum Continuing growth in U.S. crude oil production is causing significant changes in the way crude oil moves within the United States. The Midwest (PADD 2) has been one of the major sources of this production growth, especially from the Bakken formation in North Dakota. Pipeline flows from PADD 2 to PADD 3 will increase over the next two years as several major pipeline projects, starting with the Seaway Pipeline's current capacity expansion, are completed. As PADD 2...

Seaway Crude Oil Pipeline Company LLC announced that service on the 500-mile, 30-inch diameter pipeline between Cushing, Oklahoma and the Gulf Coast resumed today, with approximately 400,000 barrels per day ("BPD") of capacity now available to shippers. Service was suspended on January 2, 2013 so that the remaining pump station connections could be completed allowing capacity to be increased from approximately 150,000 BPD.

Two ventures aiming to break the logjam facing Western Canadian producers seeking new markets for their crude oil face crucial tests in January. Vancouver-based Generating for Seven Generations, or G7G, is expecting to know whether it will get C$40 million in financing to study the feasibility of its plan to build a rail line from Alberta to Alaska to connect with the Valdez Marine Terminal, while a coalition of railroads and producers is scheduled to decide whether it will conduct an experimental shipment of 2 million barrels of crude this summer through the Hudson Bay port at Churchill, Manitoba, to...

A proposed pair of projects worth $600 million will pump an additional 230,000 barrels per day of oil through existing pipelines from Alberta to Wisconsin. In a news release Friday, Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. announced a $400-million expansion of the Canadian main line system between Hardisty, Alta., and the U.S. border designed to add capacity through increased horsepower at pumping stations. Meanwhile, Enbridge Energy Partners of Houston announced a $200-million expansion of its Lakehead System between Neche, N.D., and Superior, Wisc. to allow the same 230,000-bpd capacity increase by the same method on the south side of the border. Both expansions...

The rerouted northern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline between Hardisty and Steele City, Neb., moved back into the spotlight Friday after a report from the state's department of environmental quality said the project would have "minimal" ecological impacts. Republican Gov. Dave Heineman said he would "carefully review" the 2,000page evaluation and make a decision within 30 days. His recommendation would be forwarded to the U.S. State Department, which is expected to issue its final report to President Barack Obama, who rejected an earlier iteration of the 3,460-kilometre TransCanada Corp. pipeline about one year ago. The new report covers the...