Report Backs 1900-Mile Canadian Oil Pipeline to Gulf Coast

A proposed oil pipeline from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast could substantially reduce U.S. dependency on oil from the Middle East and other regions, according to a report commissioned by the Obama administration. The study suggests the 1,900-mile pipeline, coupled with a reduction in overall U.S. oil demand, "could essentially eliminate Middle East crude imports longer term." The $7 billion project would carry crude oil extracted from tar sands in Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas. The report, prepared by a Massachusetts firm at the request of the U.S. Energy Department, was completed Dec. 23 and made public this week, as President Barack Obama prepares to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Friday at the White House. The project's developer, Calgary-based TransCanada, hailed the report by EnSys Energy & Systems Inc. The so-called Keystone XL pipeline -- which doubles the capacity of an existing pipeline from Canada -- is projected to produce more than 500,000 barrels a day of crude oil derived from formations of sand, clay and water in western Canada...more