KXL oil is NOT an export pipeline

Sabrina Fang
Posted February 24, 2015

For as long as the Keystone delay and debate has been going on, critics of the project have tried to misinform the public that Canada is just using the US to export its oil to the rest of the world. Well today, another creditable study is proving those critics wrong.  According to a new report  by IHS CERA:

“Most, if not all, crude oil that would be transported via the proposed Keystone XL pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast would not be exported, and the vast majority of refined product (about 70 percent) derived from it would be consumed in the United States”

President Obama who has often dismissed KXL as an export pipeline should take note of this study and his own State Department  findings that the Canadian oil sands would be consumed here. Not to mention the president’s National Export Initiative calls for increasing exports; any petroleum products that are exported would not only help reduce our trade deficit but could also help us meet this goal.

The new study reaffirms the common sense thinking behind the supply and demand chain.

“The reality is that the U.S. Gulf Coast is the world’s largest single refining market for heavy crudes such as oil sands, making it unlikely these barrels would be exported offshore. And, the overwhelming majority of refined products produced in the Gulf are consumed in the United States, regardless of the crude source. Regardless of whether the oil is imported from Canada or Venezuela, the overwhelming majority of the refined products produced in the Gulf will continue to be consumed in the United States”

No matter what the president decides on KXL one thing is certain, Canada will get its energy product to market.  The new IHS report concludes that if new pipelines are not built alternative modes of transportation including rail would still enhance oil sands shipments to the U.S.

“Currently there is over 1 million barrels per day of capacity at various stages of construction in the oil sands. IHS anticipates existing projects will continue to operate and those under construction will proceed to completion. While investment will not be immune to the drop in oil prices, significant production growth is still expected over the coming years. IHS expects oil sands production to rise to 2.9 million barrels per day by 2020, an increase of 800,000 barrels per day.”

The facts on building KXL are crystal clear. Built it and American consumers will benefit by getting more stable oil from a friendly neighbor. Build it and 42,000 Americans will be put to work. Or say no and export all the jobs and energy security that Keystone would have brought to the U.S.