Tornado Alley (PROG)

[arizona1]

Keystone XL pipeline decision delayed until at least June

The Obama Administration's decision to delay recommendations on the Keystone XL pipeline until at least June is good news for many reasons. Delay is the albatross around Canadian Tar Sands oil's neck as they increasingly run into impediments to getting their highly controversial tar sands oil to global markets.

The Obama administration's decision on the Keystone XL oil pipeline will not be made until at least June, a U.S. official said, which would delay the project for months and frustrate backers of Canada's oil sands.

"We're talking the beginning of summer at the earliest," said the source, who did not want to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the TransCanada Corp project, which has been pending for more than four and a half years. "It's not weeks until the final decision. It's months."

The delay is having the effect of discounting prices for the oil due to insufficient distribution.

The delay is painful in Canada which is suffering persistent, discounted prices for its oil because of tight pipeline capacity. The premier of the Western Canadian province of Alberta warned last week that it faced a $6 billion revenue shortfall due to current pipeline constraints.

Another route being pursued for distribution of the tar sands oil is the huge Asia market. That is being stalled by the entrenched opposition to the Northern Gateway Pipeline; the only viable route from Alberta to the Pacific Ocean North American ports.

Any distribution of the Alberta Tar Sands oil to the EU has been thwarted by the European Commission to label the Tar Sands oil as highly polluting and bound by it's environmental rules.

The stalled decision in the US is starting to look like good environmental and political judgement by the Obama Administration. It gives us more time to build an even greater visible opposition to the XL pipeline.

Join the largest environmental protest ever in the US on Sunday Feb. 17th in Washington DC right outside the Whitehouse! Register Here!
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/03/1184303/-Keystone-XL-pipeline-decision-delayed-until-at-least-June