Pipelines ain't cheap.
Pipeline Cost Expected to Double, TransCanada CEO Says
The cost of building the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which is awaiting approval from the U.S. after an initial rejection, may climb 85 per cent to $10-billion (U.S.), according to developer TransCanada Corp.
The new estimate, confirmed by Calgary-based company spokesman Shawn Howard yesterday after comments made by chief executive officer Russ Girling to the Wall Street Journal, increases the project cost from the current $5.4-billion.
TransCanada, the second-largest Canadian pipeline operator, applied six years ago to build Keystone XL to carry rising supplies of oil-sands crude to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries. The pipeline was rejected by President Barack Obama in 2012. TransCanada then split up the project to build the southern portion first and refiled for approval for the northern leg with an alternate route in Nebraska.
The U.S. State Department is awaiting the outcome of a Nebraska court battle over the regulatory review of the line’s path through the state before making a ruling. The department has jurisdiction over the project because it would cross the U.S. border with Canada.
Environmental campaigners have stalled progress on the project, arguing it would boost carbon dioxide emissions and hurt the communities that live in its proposed path. The project is one of several that activists are due to highlight at demonstrations planned at the United Nations Climate Summit, which starts next week.
TransCanada CEO Girling this week called the opposition ignorant of the project’s realities. The lack of a decision on whether the project will go ahead has resulted in it carrying costs of $150-million a year, Girling said.
Keystone Pipeline Cost Expected to Double, TransCanada CEO Says - WSJ
Pipeline Cost Expected to Double, TransCanada CEO Says
The cost of building the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which is awaiting approval from the U.S. after an initial rejection, may climb 85 per cent to $10-billion (U.S.), according to developer TransCanada Corp.
The new estimate, confirmed by Calgary-based company spokesman Shawn Howard yesterday after comments made by chief executive officer Russ Girling to the Wall Street Journal, increases the project cost from the current $5.4-billion.
TransCanada, the second-largest Canadian pipeline operator, applied six years ago to build Keystone XL to carry rising supplies of oil-sands crude to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries. The pipeline was rejected by President Barack Obama in 2012. TransCanada then split up the project to build the southern portion first and refiled for approval for the northern leg with an alternate route in Nebraska.
The U.S. State Department is awaiting the outcome of a Nebraska court battle over the regulatory review of the line’s path through the state before making a ruling. The department has jurisdiction over the project because it would cross the U.S. border with Canada.
Environmental campaigners have stalled progress on the project, arguing it would boost carbon dioxide emissions and hurt the communities that live in its proposed path. The project is one of several that activists are due to highlight at demonstrations planned at the United Nations Climate Summit, which starts next week.
TransCanada CEO Girling this week called the opposition ignorant of the project’s realities. The lack of a decision on whether the project will go ahead has resulted in it carrying costs of $150-million a year, Girling said.
Keystone Pipeline Cost Expected to Double, TransCanada CEO Says - WSJ