Update on the Keystone XL Project (Not a Bakken Story)

Well, this is interesting, very interesting.

Just a few days ago (October 18, 2010), I posted on this blog that the TransCanada's Keystone XL project had been stopped in its tracks.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Massachusetts Congressman Edward Markey oppose the project -- although there is also evidence that the Speaker might be less firm than headlines would suggest. Be that as it may, Ms Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State has voiced support for the project. She was criticized for her remarks but she stands by what she said.

From the Bismarck Tribune:

Because both pipelines (Keystone and Keystone XL) cross the U.S.-Canadian border, presidential permits from the State Department are required. But department officials have given no signal about when they might approve the final permit for Keystone XL, despite enthusiastically touting the Keystone pipeline as a project with little opposition when it was at this stage three years ago.

The Keystone XL project,  a massive pipeline project -- about five times the length of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline -- is projected to move up to 1.1 million barrels of Canadian oil each day to U.S. refineries. This project should not be confused with TransCanada's Keystone project; oil began flowing through that 36-inch pipeline this past June (2010).

Interesting, very interesting.