Brief Overview: The Energy East Pipeline is a project proposed by TransCanada for converting an old natural gas pipeline into one that transports 1.1 million barrels of crude oil a day from Alberta/Saskatchewan to eastern refineries and a marine terminal in New Brunswick. The project’s formal application took place in October 2014, the project will stretch 4,600 kilometers; the exact route of which will be determined when the project gets farther in its design process. (TransCanada, The Project section, para. 1)
The project consists of three major components, these components will consist of the aforementioned natural gas pipeline conversion, along with the construction of new pipelines in several provinces, including, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, which will link up to the main pipeline, and finally the construction of several necessary facilities, such as pump stations and tank terminal, to help transport the crude oil cross country. (TransCanada, The Project section, par. 3)
The company handling the proposed project is TransCanada. According to the TransCanada website (2015): they have 60+ years of handling and constructing pipelines, they are responsible for the transportation of 20% of the continents natural gas. They employ approximately 6000 employees across (including roughly 3,088 Canadians) in seven provinces, 33 U.S. states and five Mexican states. The
Pollution is already a huge ongoing battle in the United States and if constructed the pipeline would send about 800,000 barrels of hazardous oil a day along with tons of greenhouse gases. The US Department of Environmental Protection estimates the greenhouse gas emissions from the Canadian oil will be more than 80% greater than oil refined in the US. That is roughly equivalent to the same amount of emissions released by 5.7 million passenger vehicles. Unfortunately, when emissions are passed into the air, the air cannot be cleaned, and since oxygen is a vital component in keeping humans alive, adding an oil pipeline that would put that much emissions into the air is far too dangerous for the public’s health what it’s
The environmental risks that come with such a massive pipeline to transport “tar sands” pose a threat on many levels. As a matter of fact the tar sands they are trying to transport are required to
As a way to directly link the unrefined tar-sands oil from Alberta, Canada to the refineries in Texas, there is no doubt that the Keystone XL Pipeline remains a topic of controversy. As with many large projects, there are both positive and negative consequences that result from its construction. While there are potential economic benefits like the creation of infrastructure-related jobs and a potential shift from energy dependence, there are many dangers to the building of the pipeline. The notion of building a pipeline that connects Canada and the United States for economic reasons is neither completely unjustifiable nor unreasonable, but given the current circumstances, in which ecological damage and neglect on the part of TransCanada are likely, I cannot support the building of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Enbridge’s project is financially going to have the price tag of about 6.5 billion dollars. That price is over 3 billion dollars more than price proposed back in 2004 when the project was announced (Hinte, 2005). Some of the other financial information that come with pipeline is that it will give BC about 1.2 billion in tax revenues over the next 30 years (Enbridge Inc., 2013). Also, a 10% share of the project ownership will been given to the First Nations and Métis for the pipeline going through their land (Hinte, 2005). Exactly 64 territories of First Nations land would be crossed with construction (Alternatives Journal, 2012). On the employment side of this project, Enbridge is expected to employ roughly 1000 to 3000
Nearly fourteen years ago, the Calgary-based oil enterprise "Enbridge" announced its most controversial project yet; to build a $6.5-billion oil-duct from Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia (Canadian Press, 2013, para. 1). It was to be named the "Northern Gateway Pipeline”.Enbridge 's preliminary announcement on the sixth of March, 2002, not only divided the province of British Columbia on whether environmental or economic prosperity was more important, but the country of Canada as a whole. Although the name "Northern Gateway" is well-known in many Western-Canadian households, few truly know the details of what this project entails. Many environmentalists and economists (Mortillara, Nicole, Global News, 2014) debate the benefits and the negative-impacts that this pipeline will have on Canadians and Canadian society. Others, though, are trying to understand what steps are being taken to ensure environmental sustainability during construction, and for the many years after its projected completion.This multi-billion dollar project has many vocal opposers, and a seemingly equal amount of environmental risks that accompanies it, all adding up to the general consensus that this duct is not worth the economic benefits that it would produce.
The Keystone XL pipeline is a pipeline that runs from Canada to the United States. It would travel from Alberta to the southeast part of Texas next to the Gulf of Mexico, so petroleum products can be transported around the world. This great project would supply petroleum demands and create many jobs. The only thing needed for this project to take off in 2015 is for President Obama to approve it.
The Keystone XL Pipeline is an oil pipeline system that runs in parts of Canada and the United States. The pipeline runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Illinois and Texas with a distribution center in Cushing, Oklahoma. The pipeline has provided several jobs throughout the two countries. Many people have concerns about spills, emission, and the amount of oil left. This paper explains the location of the pipeline, the problems and concerns that surround it, and the positive outcomes it has created.
On the 9th of February 2004 TransCanada Corporation, an energy company based in Alberta, Canada proposed a plan for the installation and use of a pipeline that would stretch from Alberta, Canada to oil refineries in the Gulf Coast of Texas in the United States. The pipeline, titled the Keystone Pipeline, would be installed in four separate phases and once completed would transport up to 1.1 million barrels of synthetic crude oil per day. Phases two through four of the pipeline encompass the parts of the pipeline that would be installed in the United States and would be located in the states of North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, and Illinois. TransCanada is currently awaiting approval from the US government in order to
In 2015, the world will face a vast amount of dilemmas; these dilemmas range from how someone is going to get their food to how they are going to cook. But the biggest dilemma of them all, is how they are going to continue to get energy to do everyday tasks. The most efficient resources are those of the nonrenewable variety. These nonrenewable resources include fossil fuels, such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum. Someday these resources will run out and will not be replenished for thousands of years. As of now, an overwhelming majority of the energy used in the world today is non-renewable. We, as civilized people, are so dependent on fossil fuels that we go through extraneous efforts to retrieve these properties. The world needs energy to function and sites that once contained vital resources are on the verge of depletion. It is inevitable that the world looks elsewhere for another resource to absorb the depleting reservoirs. One reservoir capable of withstanding the demand for oil are the tar sands located near Alberta, Canada. These tar sands are the third largest reservoir of crude oil in the world and are conveniently located just north of the United States border (About the Project). There is a wide spread debate on whether or not the crude oil produced from these tar sands should be transported via pipeline. With critical analysis of all point of views, it is without a doubt that the United States should cease their delay on
In the October of 2015, oil prices have dropped to their lowest since 2008 and Canada has lost over 35,000 jobs, and the value of the loonie has dropped to a mere 77 cents compared to the U.S. Dollar. As Canada desperately clings onto the failing economy, it turns its attention to The Keystone Pipelines. The Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline was an idea proposed in 2008 by the TransCanada energy company, to deliver 830,000 barrels of oil each day beginning in Hardisty, Alberta, and extending south to Steele City, Nebraska. TransCanada claims to bring more jobs, energy security, and benefit to the Canadian and American economy. Yet, President Obama denied the proposal in 2015. Although it was a huge disappointment to Canada, the decision to deny permission for further construction of the pipeline was the right one. The future of Canada’s economy should not rely on the Keystone XL pipeline, because the devastating environmental risks, the instability of the oil industry, and Canada’s ability to expand other industries.
The United States and Canada have a long history when it comes to energy and economy. Canada is America’s top trading part, which, in turn, plays a role in job creation. Building the Keystone Pipeline will create a great opportunity for these two countries to strengthen their partnership while creating jobs, economic benefits, and creating greater energy security. The project will create many construction and manufacturing jobs and a vast amount of direct, indirect, and induced jobs. The Keystone Pipeline project is what is known as a shovel ready job.
Intended as a cooperative effort between the U.S. and Canadian governments as well as private companies in both countries, the proposed TransCanada KXL would complement the current Keystone oil pipeline (TransCanada, 2017). The KXL is to take a more direct route across both countries, the path of which (Hardisty, Alberta to Steele City, Nebraska) is a subject of much controversy both in Canada and the United States.
In his speech before the Bloomberg Energy Conference in New York on April, last year, former Canadian Minister on Natural Resources Joe Oliver outlined the significance of the Keystone XL oil pipeline in meeting the growing demands of the United States for an environmentally safe and secure energy source and distribution. He argued that North America’s continued growth as a global superpower depends on how it can meet its energy demands without depending so much on offshore sources such as the Middle East which are mostly in conflict and are therefore unstable. Oliver seems to present a compelling argument in favor of Canada’s energy projects especially when he cites independent third party reports made by the International Energy Agency
The Keystone XL Pipeline is a proposed 1, 1798 mile pipeline that begins in Hardisty, Canada and runs to Steele City , Nebraska. It is designed to carry up to 830,00 barrels of petroleum per day. The Canadian company TransCanada initially proposed the pipeline in 2005 and applied to the State Department for a construction permit in 2008. There would be 329 miles of pipeline in Canada and 840 miles of pipeline in the United States. Then, once the pipeline reaches Nebraska, it would connect to an existing Keystone pipeline that runs to the Gulf Coast. This pipeline would require Canada and the United States to partner together, and in the end would benefit both countries. Canada is already sending the United States approximately 550,000
Together, with the creation of jobs, is the tremendous upsurge in revenue. Earnings come from tax revenues from TransCanada and income taxes from the thousands of jobs create by this pipeline. An estimate, from the State Department environmental review, states, “that building the pipeline would contribute about $3.4 billion to the American economy,” (Davenport). The taxes collected from TransCanada from 2010 to 2014 totals $186.4 million and will only increase with the addition to the pipeline. It is discernible that the United States will only gain money from the Keystone pipeline, not lose money. TransCanada would fund, “construct, own, and operate the proposed pipeline,” leaving the U.S. government to collect the profits (Levitt). Financing for the pipeline became available when President Obama “placed the approval for the pipeline on the back burner” and TransCanada has “been able to save up enough cash to fund and build the Keystone outright,”