Trump looks to speed up Keystone XL with executive actions

[corbe]

Trump looks to speed up Keystone XL with executive actions

By John Siciliano • 1/20/17 12:15 PM

President Trump is preparing to take executive actions soon that will begin the process of unraveling former President Barack Obama's climate change legacy, while clearing the way for the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline.
 
Trump's White House team will begin the climate rollback by striking down a controversial climate metric called the Social Cost of Carbon, which the Obama administration used to justify the cost of its environmental regulations.
 
The carbon cost formula has been a big target by Republicans who have criticized it as a hidden standard that few people have access to and that appeared to be directly controlled and tweaked by the Obama White House.
 
Trump plans to move soon on issuing the executive order to end the carbon metric, while issuing a second order to remove regulatory roadblocks for approving trans-border pipeline projects such as the Keystone XL project to connect Canada's oil sands to U.S. refiners in the Gulf of Mexico, Bloomberg reported.

<..snip..>

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-looks-to-speed-up-keystone-xl-with-executive-actions/article/2612458

[EC]

Since as far as I am aware the only blocks to the Keystone pipeline are now the Executive agencies, President Trump is well within his constitutional right to do this.

[corbe]

   I was under the impression that we had neither the storage or refining capacity to take this on, if Oil goes down and fracking starts back up it will be a bigger burden.  I could have read that wrong though, maybe one of our experts will chime in.

[thackney]

   I was under the impression that we had neither the storage or refining capacity to take this on,

The US currently imports ~10 Million BPD, ~3.5 MMBPD from OPEC.  I would rather see us importing more from Canada and less from OPEC.

U.S. Crude Oil Imports by Country of Origin
http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_impcus_a2_nus_ep00_im0_mbblpd_m.htm

, if Oil goes down and fracking starts back up it will be a bigger burden.  I could have read that wrong though, maybe one of our experts will chime in.

I don't see the "burden" you are referencing.

[EC]

@thackney @Smokin Joe

Every system has bottlenecks, that can't be helped.

In your professional opinions, are the bottlenecks in the current system of oil processing and storage likely to cause problems with the Keystone being brought on-line? I know, for example, the oil is purchased several months before it's actually produced, so there will be overlap between the Canadian and ME oil inputs for a time.

[thackney]

@thackney @Smokin Joe

Every system has bottlenecks, that can't be helped.

In your professional opinions, are the bottlenecks in the current system of oil processing and storage likely to cause problems with the Keystone being brought on-line? I know, for example, the oil is purchased several months before it's actually produced, so there will be overlap between the Canadian and ME oil inputs for a time.

If the Keystone XL was built and brought online, there would be changes farther downstream on other pipelines, and changes to imports and other movements such as barging and rail.

The infrastructure is certainly capable of dealing with the change.  All the financial impacts of all the changes would be complex but not unrealistic.

[EC]

Thank you, sir! 

[IsailedawayfromFR]

   I was under the impression that we had neither the storage or refining capacity to take this on, if Oil goes down and fracking starts back up it will be a bigger burden.  I could have read that wrong though, maybe one of our experts will chime in.

I cannot see in any way shape or form that there will be a bigger burden for anybody but OPEC and Russia.

My years in the oil industry taught me we should always have the problem of too much oil to fit into the tanks.

It is a great problem to have.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

@thackney @Smokin Joe

Every system has bottlenecks, that can't be helped.

In your professional opinions, are the bottlenecks in the current system of oil processing and storage likely to cause problems with the Keystone being brought on-line? I know, for example, the oil is purchased several months before it's actually produced, so there will be overlap between the Canadian and ME oil inputs for a time.

A pipeline is justified economically not by current production, but by way into the future, perhaps 5 to 20 years from now.

It takes years and years to actually get payout to occur, so any current issues are not all that important in seeking its ultimate reward - profit for the pipeline company and increased, cheaper product for consumers.