It's almost like I offended somebody over at the WSJ. I'll stand by my previous comments.
The paragraph between your snippets carries the real reason why Obama and friends stand in the way: "Koch Pipeline Company ..."
The argument about flexibility doesn't fly. Yeah, if they piped to the gulf coast now they'd be flooding the market and the price would be lower but pipelines don't have to go only to the gulf coast. In fact the completed phase 1 section of Keystone goes to Illinois via Canada and EASTERN North Dakota and the section being blocked would carry oil directly from the Bakken (and Canada) to the section that connects directly to the phase 1 section. if anybody wants flexibility they might want to consider the concept of barges. Cheaper and arguably safer and strangely enough Keystone happens to go conveniently close to the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.
BTW on my drive thru Nebraska in December, I saw a lot of pipeline pipe being moved. The pipelines are being built but I suspect a fully integrated and fully functional system linking the producing areas of MT, ND, Alberta, and Saskatchewan with refineries on the gulf coast and Midwest won't exist until after 2017. Alternatively, I wouldn't be surprised if Bakken producers end up piping north to Canada and then east or west.
AI
