The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[OakesCS]

All of your comments are correct except the literal reading of the NYT comment and it's intended meaning are quite different and there is no regular crude.

Tangentially and ironically, if Obama would approve XL, some of the Bakken crude would probably make it's way north (not necessarily in the XL but if XL isn't going to get approved, then nobody is going to try for others). That Bakken crude would be used as diluent for the heavier Canadian crude. Lack of diluent will eventually be a huge problem.