What Is the Keystone XL Oil Pipeline?

The Keystone XL pipeline project is a proposed oil pipeline running from the Alberta Tar Sands to Nebraska. It will extend an existing pipeline in Canada and the United States by 1,179 miles, taking a more direct route. First proposed in 2008 by North American energy company, TransCanada, the XL project will double oil production capacity on the US Gulf Coast.

In November 2014, the Senate narrowly rejected a bill to approve the pipeline, falling one vote short of passing the legislation. Republicans are confident, however, that the bill will be passed next year with the GOP-controlled senate in 2015.

As well as transporting crude oil from Canada and supporting production growth, TransCanada believe that the Keystone XL project will create jobs and provide stable energy independence for America’s future. With the capacity to transport up to 830,000 barrels of oil every day, the company claim that US dependence on oil from Venezuela and the Middle East will be reduced by 40%.

While this may sound a positive proposition from the energy corporation, why is the Keystone XL pipeline taking so long to be approved?

Why has the Keystone XL pipeline met resistance?

When the pipeline was first proposed, a major concern for environmentalists across the country was that the pipeline would sustain America’s reliance on highly-polluting energy sources. Coupled with an apprehension surrounding pipeline oil leaks, the Keystone XL project has been controversial from the word go.

The campaign against the Keystone XL project developed into a national environmental movement to put pressure on President Barack Obama to demonstrate his commitment to tackling climate change; ultimately calling on the White House to choose between the environment and the economy. Environmental campaigner and founder of 350.org, Bill McKibben said, “(Alberta Tar Sands) is the second biggest pool of carbon on the planet. If the US government goes ahead and makes it easier to develop that oil-sands project, then there is no credible way to insist that they're working hard on climate change”

Will the Keystone XL pipeline impact energy prices?

Despite common misconceptions, the XL project will not lower energy prices in the US. Speaking at a conference in Burma before the Keystone vote in November, President Obama said, “Understand what this project is: it is providing the ability of Canada to pump their oil, send it through our land, down to the Gulf, where it will be sold everywhere else. It doesn’t have an impact on US gas prices.”

The President continued, “If my Republican friends really want to focus on what’s good for the American people in terms of job creation and lower energy costs, we should be engaging in a conversation about what are we doing to produce even more homegrown energy? I’m happy to have that conversation.”

For more information on the transportation of oil, take a look at this article, Proliferation of Crude by Rail and its Impacts.