Petroleum Institute Urges Keystone XL Approval

WASHINGTON, D.C. — With a government shutdown in place, the Keystone XL pipeline could become a bargaining chip between Republicans and Democrats to avert a fiscal crisis. With the project under review for the last five years, the American Petroleum Institute is urging President Obama to finally approve it before it becomes a victim of the impasse.

API Senior Economic Analyst Rayola Dougher says the pipeline keeps jobs and North American oil in the U.S. and Texas. According to Dougher, “The Canadians just announced that it will be complete by the end of the month. So the southern tier piece that’s from Cushing (Oklahoma) down to Port Arthur is just about done.” Dougher says that means if Canada can’t move its oil south to the Texas gulf coast refineries it will have to send it somewhere else for production. Part of that southern section will run through much of East Texas, including a portion of Smith County.