Q & A With TED Book Author on The Keystone

A reader alerted me to this Q & A article regarding the Keystone.

In the TED Book Keystone XL: Down the Line, Washington Post reporter Steven Mufson and photographer Michael Williamson travel the entire length of the proposed project and reveal starting realities about its impact on everything from the environment to town economies to people’s lives, in the areas through which it passes.

As debate over the Keystone XL boils over, it felt like the right time to ask Mufson a few questions. Below, his take on this highly controversial proposed project.

Why are Canada and the United States now in a rush to expand oil exporting? 

Canada is already a major oil exporter — in fact, they’re the biggest source of U.S. crude oil imports. Companies producing oil in the tar sands in northern Alberta are looking to double production there — and they need more ways to move that oil out.

Currently, the limited options for transporting oil only pile onto the costs of production. The biggest and most natural market is the United States, both because our economy is big and because U.S. refineries on the Gulf of Mexico have been modernized and upgraded to handle low-quality crude oil like that coming out of Alberta.

Once the crude oil is refined, it’s easier to sell in the United States or abroad. The United States both exports and imports refined products, though given the size of the U.S. refinery industry and relatively flat U.S. gasoline consumption, the volume of U.S. exports of gasoline and diesel has increased.

Go to the link for the rest of the interview.

These were my thoughts:

That was actually quite a nice interview. I read it quickly so I may have missed a few points, but I did not consider the author particularly biased. If anything, he seemed to be ambivalent -- maybe caught up in anti-Keystone bias, but after traveling the length of it (and noting all the pipeline that already crosses the US) he felt it might not be that big a deal.

I think "we" are simply at that point in the US that 80% of the population has no informed opinion on the project (as long as they can afford gasoline they are happy regardless where it comes from and how it gets there). 10% are adamantly opposed -- some sincere, some fringe -- and the other 10% are only reacting to the 10% that are opposed. 

Eight (8) New Permits -- Williston Basin; Four Huge Wells (Need To Confirm IP Of One Well);

First the huge new wells; these are the producing wells that were completed:

• 22808, 4,439, BEXP, Cheryl 17-20 4H, Banks, t2/13; cum 36K 2/13;
• 22632, 2,400, BEXP, Marcia 3-10 4TFH, Last Chance, t2/13; cum 13K 2/13;
• 22631, 3,201, BEXP, Marcia 3-10 3H, Last Chance, t2/13; cum 19K 2/13;
• 23715, 273, XTO, ND State 43X-16B, Stoneview, Siverston, t2/13; cum 2K 2/13;
• 23660, 2,699, XTO, Lee 44-31NEH, Stoneview, Siverston, t2/13; cum 500 bbls 2/13; need to check IP on this well; unfortunately I don't see the sundry report at the NDIC website yet, to see what the company reported; one almost thinks the correct IP is 269, so we will have to wait to see

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22808, see above, BEXP, Cheryl 17-20 4H, Banks, t2/13; cum 36K 2/13:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	2-2013	26	35709	34060	26746	69146	0	69146

22632, see above, BEXP, Marcia 3-10 4TFH, Last Chance, t2/13; cum 13K 2/13:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	2-2013	18	12974	11610	20244	13692	2980	10712

 22631, see above, BEXP, Marcia 3-10 3H, Last Chance, t2/13; cum 19K 2/13:

Pool	Date	Days	BBLS Oil	Runs	BBLS Water	MCF Prod	MCF Sold	Vent/Flare
BAKKEN	2-2013	23	18841	17993	26667	0	0	0

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Active rigs: 187 (nice)

Eight (8) new permits -- 

• Operators: Whiting (5), Hess (2), Zenergy,
• Fields: Sanish (Mountrail), Cherry Creek (McKenzie), Foreman Butte (McKenzie), Pleasant hill (McKenzie)
• Comments:

Wells coming off the confidential list were posted earlier; see sidebar at the right.

The Sierra Club Needs To Send a Thank-You Note To The Fracking Industry

For those who care, Oil & Gas Journal is reporting:

US energy-related carbon dioxide emissions reached 5.3 billion tonnes in 2012—the nation’s lowest level since 1994, the US Energy Information Administration reported. Emissions have declined consecutively since 2007, with the exception of 2010.

The drop in CO2 emissions in 2012 was primarily attributable to the shift of electric power generation to natural gas from coal. During 2012, particularly in the spring and early summer, low natural gas prices led to competition between gas-fired and coal-fired electric power generators.

I wonder if the Sierra Club will send a thank-you note to the fracking industry?

Memo To Commercial Airline Travelers --

It looks like if you plan to fly commercially next week, it may be best to do it by Tuesday, April 9, 2013 --- it looks like the Brits suggest Wednesday, April 10, 2013, could be a day of fireworks.

I don't know much about nuclear EMP, but I know enough that flying and nuclear EMP are not a good combination. 

North Korea recommending foreigners leave by April 10 -- the government can't guarantee their safety after April 10th.

The first thing one needs to do is start looking for historical events to determine why April 10 might be important. Unfortunately, wiki is geared for Western readers, and not much of interest to the Orient mind regarding this date.

However, this is noteworthy:

Kim Il-sung, the grandfather of the current North Korean leader, born 15 April 1912, died 8 July 1994, was the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly referred to as North Korea, from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. 

April 15: a nice birthday present in honor of his grandfather who was the "father of his country," much like George Washington was the father of our country. So, the warning that the country cannot guarantee anyone's safety after April 10 certainly fits.

Memo to self: update Google calendar.

Wow, This Must Really Hurt ..

John Kerry, following his boss's lead, will forgo part of salary to show solidarity for the federally furloughed and sequestered worker.

Remember this is the guy that docked his yacht out of state, Rhode Island, I believe, to avoid Massachusetts sales tax. Having just made a bundle on selling his Heinz stock to Warren Buffett, I doubt he will notice the loss in salary, though he will gain bragging rights with the boss. It will be interesting to see if all cabinet members give up a bit of their pay. I assume more are yet to come on board, although quite a few already have. In fact, it looks like John Kerry was probably embarrassed to show up at Cabinet meetings when talk of the sequester came up. Smile. If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen. Cabinet.

Maybe that would be a good poll: to ask if mineral owners in the Bakken feel compelled to give up 5% of their windfall to show solidarity with the president. As my daughter would text: LOL.