Rhetoric VS. Reality
Policy-makers are talking a lot about energy and energy policy. What follows are some of the most frequently heard claims and proposals, along with realities that need to be considered when evaluating these claims.
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Industry Supporters Discuss Keystone XL Project
February 1, 2012
HOUSTON - The Keystone XL Pipeline project stays in the news as local and national lawmakers try to fight for its survival.
The Obama Administration rejected TransCanada's permit application in January, saying the State Department didn't have enough time to thoroughly review the project. The pipeline would be 1,700 miles long from Canada to the Gulf Coast, bringing more than 800,000 barrels of oil per day to area refineries. Just building the pipeline would cost TransCanada $7 billion, and would provide an estimated 20,000 jobs in the United States just for construction and maintenance.
Supporters of the Keystone pipeline say rejecting it was a huge loss for a country so in need for jobs and an economic boost. In Texas alone, the economic benefit would be $1 billion for pipeline construction, and more than $40 million dollars per year in oil taxes collected by the state. While the local economic benefit is not in dispute, William Edwards of Edwards Energy Consultants, believes the pipeline won't' be a money-maker for TransCanada.
Edwards appeared on FOX 26 Morning News along with Bruce Vincent, president of Swift Energy, and Richard Slemaker, publisher of Energy Magazine, to discuss the long term economics of the pipeline. They say Houston and the entire country could only benefit from the pipeline if the project can just get through the government red tape. SEE MORE