If I Were TransCanada, I Would Just Lock It Up With China

Updates

August 16, 2011: I think this is a dead issue, but to humor the TransCanada folks, I will link the story. The story is about TransCanada's plan to ensafety the pipeline.

August 15, 2011: long, long story in PennEnergy about the pressure on Obama to support the Keystone XL pipeline. Links to PennEnergy, others, usually occur early. This is a gut check for Obama. I can see it going either way and can argue either side.

August 8, 2011: well, this reassures me. Ms Hillary Clinton tells Canada not to worry; US wants Keystone XL. Yup. Sure. 

July 27, 2011: House passes bill requiring Obama administration to make Keystone XL decision by November 1, 2011. Needs to be passed by the Senate. Won't happen. Even if it does, Obama will ignore it.

July 26, 2011: Another casualty of the Keystone XL. Developers wanting to build the nation's first new refinery since 1976 want to delay construction by 18 months from the date a final permit is issued. The article does not say why the Texas company wants to delay construction but one can speculate it has to do with the XL. The refinery will process heavy oil from the Canadian oil sands.

July 20, 2011: Looks like just a matter of time before Keystone XL lost. It may end up being a win-win for all.

July 11, 2011: The recent XOM spill in the Yellowstone, as inconsequential as it will ultimately be environmentally, will be one more nail in the Keystone XL pipeline. Meanwhile, this shovel-ready job sits ready to go.

June 26, 2011: Looks like China is ready to take Canadian oil / Keystone XL if the US doesn't want it.

June 24, 201l: US House Committee on Energy and Commerce Committee passed a bill to place pressure on Obama administration to make decision regarding the Keystone XL pipeline. I'm not holding my breath. This is the same administration who denies any hostilities going on in Libya.

The US House Energy and Commerce Committee on June 23 passed legislation aimed at pressuring the Obama administration to reach a decision on the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline project’s cross-border permit application. The full committee passed HR 1238 by 33 to 13 votes after its Energy and Power Subcommittee approved the bill on June 15.

The measure would require the US Department of State to reach a decision on the proposal by Nov. 1. The project would expand shipments from Canada of oil produced from Alberta oil sands by 1.3 million b/d. “This project has been delayed long enough,” committee chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said following the vote. “It’s time to make a decision, and this bipartisan bill will make it happen.”

June 16, 2011: Good news: Federal panel approves fast-track approval for Keystone XL. Bad news: this panel is so far down the food chain, this vote means nothing. This is a subcommittee of a larger committee in the US House. TransCanada needs someone to pass a law fast-tracking fast-track legislation. This bill won't see the light of day in my investing lifetime.

The US House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power Wednesday approved a bill to help fast-track the construction of Transcanada's proposed Keystone XL Pipeline.

The North American-Made Energy Security Act (H.R. 1938) requires the Obama administration to issue a final order by Nov. 1, 2011, on whether the Keystone XL Pipeline can be built to transport oil from Western Canada to Texas. The bipartisan bill will now move to the full Energy and Commerce Committee for consideration.

Original Post

Link here.

A dispute over a plan to send oil from western Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast moved to Capitol Hill on Monday, where a House panel debated whether to speed a decision by the Obama administration.

Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are backing a bill that would set a Nov. 1 deadline for the State Department to decide on the $7 billion project. A Canadian company wants to build a 1,900-mile pipeline to carry crude oil extracted from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas.

Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., who chairs the energy panel, said it makes sense to pursue reliable and affordable energy in North America. The proposed Keystone XL pipeline would create thousands of jobs and help cut $4-a-gallon prices at the pump, Upton said.

"We need to act soon as China is very interested in pursuing the same resources," Upton said. "If we don't say yes soon, China will lock it up."

I personally don't understand TransCanada's reluctance to put in a pipeline to the west coast of Canada and ship their total production to China. I must be missing something.