TransCanada to begin Keystone XL pipeline construction in 2019

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
108,912
11,193
113
Low Earth Orbit
Bummer for the ecofascist Sierra Club.


LINCOLN, Neb. — The developer of the Keystone XL oil pipeline plans to start construction next year, after a U.S. State Department review ordered by a federal judge concluded that major environmental damage from a leak is unlikely and could quickly be mitigated, a company spokesman said Monday.


TransCanada spokesman Matthew John said the company remains committed to moving ahead with the project following years of reviews from federal and state regulators. The company has already started preparing pipe yards, transporting pipe and mowing parts of the project’s right-of-way in Montana and South Dakota, but TransCanada said in court documents it doesn’t plan start construction in Nebraska in the first half of 2019.


The report issued Friday from the Trump administration’s State Department drew criticism from environmental groups, who say they’ll continue to fight the project they view as an environmental threat.


“The Trump administration sees no problem with building the Keystone XL — in other news, the grass is still green and the sky is still blue,” said Kelly Martin, a campaign director for the Sierra Club.


The updated, 338-page report was released a little more than a month after a federal judge in Montana ordered the U.S. State Department to conduct a more thorough review of the pipeline’s proposed pathway after Nebraska state regulators changed the route.


The original environmental impact study was issued in 2014, before Nebraska regulators approved a longer “mainline alternative” route that veered away from the company’s preferred pathway. President Donald Trump approved a federal permit for the project in March 2017, reversing former President Barack Obama’s decision to reject it amid concerns over greenhouse admissions.


The report said the US$8 billion, 1,184-mile pipeline would have a “negligible to moderate” environmental impact under its normal operations, and continuous monitoring and automatic shut-off valves would help company officials quickly identify a leak or rupture.


Additionally, the report said TransCanada has a response plan in place that should mitigate the effects if it’s implemented quickly.


“Prompt cleanup response would likely be capable of remediating the contaminated soil before the hazardous release reaches groundwater depth,” the report said.


Environmentalists, Native American tribes and a coalition of landowners have prevented the company from moving ahead with construction. In addition to the federal lawsuit in Montana that seeks to halt the project, opponents have a pending lawsuit before the Nebraska Supreme Court. Oral arguments in the Nebraska case aren’t expected until next month.


Critics of the project have raised concerns about spills that could contaminate groundwater and the property rights of affected landowners. In Nebraska, a major battleground for the project, opponents are trying to change the makeup of the Nebraska Public Service Commission in hopes of overturning its previous decision to approve an in-state route for the pipeline.


The latest State Department report is a draft that must still face public review and comments, but federal officials say they expect to have the final draft ready by December. In court documents from the Montana lawsuit, TransCanada’s attorneys said they believe all the pending lawsuits will be resolved before construction begins.


The pipeline would carry up to 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Canada through Montana and South Dakota to Steele City, Nebraska, where it would connect with the original Keystone pipeline that runs down to Texas Gulf Coast refineries. The State Department has noted that TransCanada has a lower overall spill rate than average in the pipeline industry.

https://business.financialpost.com/...loper-plans-to-start-construction-in-2019/amp
 

MHz

Time Out
Mar 16, 2007
41,030
43
48
Red Deer AB
To who? (eastern Canada once Saudi turn the taps off?) You do know that in a national emergency the US has the right to Canadian oil more than Canadians do.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
108,912
11,193
113
Low Earth Orbit
Futures Market

What is the 'Futures Market'
A futures market is an auction market in which participants buy and sell commodity and futures contracts for delivery on a specified future date. Examples of futures markets are the New York Mercantile Exchange, the Kansas City Board of Trade, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Chicago Board of Options Exchange and the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. Originally, trading was carried on through open yelling and hand signals in a trading pit, though in the 21st century, like most other markets, futures exchanges are mostly electronic.

BREAKING DOWN 'Futures Market'
In order to understand fully what a futures market it is, it’s important to understand the basics of futures contracts, the assets traded in these markets.

Futures contracts are made in attempt by producers and suppliers of commodities to avoid market volatility. These producers and suppliers negotiate contracts with an investor who agrees to take on both the risk and reward of a volatile market.

For instance, if a coffee farm sells green coffee beans at $4 per pound to a roaster, and the roaster sells that roasted pound at $10 per pound and both are making a profit at that price, they’ll want to keep those costs at a fixed rate. The investor agrees that if the price for coffee goes below a set rate, then the investor agrees to pay the difference to the coffee farmer. If the price of coffee goes higher than a certain price, then the investor gets to keep profits. For the roaster, if the price of green coffee goes above an agreed rate, then the investor pays the difference and the roaster gets the coffee at a predictable rate. If the price of green coffee is lower than an agreed upon rate, the roaster pays the same price and the investor gets the profit.

Futures markets or futures exchanges are where these financial products are bought and sold for delivery at some agreed-upon date in the future with a price fixed at the time of the deal. Futures markets are for more than simply agricultural based contracts, and now involve the buying, selling, and hedging of financial products and future values of interest rates. Futures contracts can be made or "created" as long as open interest is increased, unlike other securities which are issued. The size of futures markets (which usually increase when the stock market outlook is uncertain) is larger than that of commodity markets, and are a key part of the financial system.

Large futures markets run their own clearing houses where they can both take revenue the trading itself and from the processing of trades after the fact. Some of the biggest futures markets that operate their own clearing houses include the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the ICE, and Eurex. Other markets like CBOE and LIFFE have outside clearing houses (Options Clearing Corporation and LCH.Clearnet respectively) settle trades. Most all futures markets are registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the main U.S. body in charge of regulation of futures markets. Exchanges are usually regulated by the nations regulatory body in the country in which they are based.
 

MHz

Time Out
Mar 16, 2007
41,030
43
48
Red Deer AB
What better way to show the markets are rigged? Sounds very similar to the same effect the 'put options' that were done on 9/11 that netted a few insiders a big chunk of change.
 

taxslave

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 25, 2008
36,362
4,336
113
Vancouver Island
Poor flossy and hoid are going to be so depressed seeing all the jobs and tax revenue selling oil creates. Might even be enough to buy them each a subsidized whirrlygig.