- continued regulatory delays could place the proposed 700,000-b/d Keystone XL pipeline in jeopardy
- the Keystone Cushing MarketLink project would not proceed without approval of Keystone XL, explaining that the economics do not work for the line as a stand-alone facility (this project was planned for 2013)
Transcanada's management of the project has been singularly inept. First transcanada insisted that there was no alternative route that would not cross the aquifer, then when the Nebraska legislature and governor objected (beyond the eleventh hour) and threw the application out, all of a sudden, there is an alternate route. Add to that downward pressure on crude price and hence profitability and maybe the pipeline is uneconomic. Transcanada seems to be looking for a way out of building the pipeline that doesn't involve poor management.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I had not thought of that, but you may have hit the nail on the head. The VP says that the Keystone XL is still in jeopardy. One could read that as a "trial balloon" preparing us for an announcement that the Keystone XL is dead -- either company decision or decided by US State Department.
DeleteThis is not at all surprising on the part of transcanada. For years, transcanada has shown disdain for wb customers even as pipeline demand from growth in production increases steadily. Remember , the original xl had ZERO bakken capacity until the governor of Montana made bakken capacity a condition of montans's acceptance. So Montana carried water for north dakota's lame politicians in bismark and washington who did nothing and continue to do nothing to advance nd's interests in expanding pipeline take away capacity. Too busy figuring out how to bolt shipping containers together to meet demand for housing. Unbelievable.
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