The Keystone Pipeline already exists and now owned solely by TC Energy. The project was 1st proposed in 2005 by the Calgary, Alberta-based TransCanada Corporation.
What doesn’t exist fully yet is its proposed expansion, the Keystone XL Pipeline. The existing Keystone runs from oil sand fields in Alberta, Canada into the U.S., ending in Cushing, Oklahoma.
Keystone system transports diluted bitumen and synthetic crude oil from Alberta through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma to refineries located in Texas, Illinois, and Oklahoma.
Canada has large reserves of oil locked in oil sands. This oil is considered heavy oil, which requires a different refining process from other types of oil. The production of heavy oil releases particulate matter, such as soot, as well as chemicals such as sulfides, hydrogen cyanide, and sulfur.
The finished Keystone XL pipeline is estimated to be able to carry over 800,000 barrels of oil a day, bringing the capacity of the Keystone system to 1.1 million barrels per day.
Keystone XL will play a central role in promoting North American energy infrastructure, with an approximately $8 billion investment into the North American economy. With pre-construction activities underway, the pipeline is expected to enter service in 2023.
From the time it was proposed in 2008, through 12 years of dogged citizen protest and various conflicting legislative orders by the federal government, the path for this controversial oil pipeline has never been smooth. Many critics of Keystone XL worry it will have harmful environmental impacts.
Proponents of the pipeline say that it will increase the supply of oil to the United States and that oil coming from a friendly neighboring country increases security.
In November 2015, President Barack Obama announced his administration would not grant permits for the construction of this pipeline in order to further their commitment to fight climate change. Obama said the project would not:
- lower petrol prices
- create long-term jobs
- affect energy dependence
