Canadian oil prices are now just $18 below the price of U.S. crude thanks to a series of new U.S. pipelines, The Wall Street Journal reported this morning.
This means the Keystone XL Pipeline is already obsolete.
"Higher oil prices in Canada ... are a sign that oil-sands crude is finding its way to the U.S. even without the approval of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline," Journal reporters Nicole Friedman and Chester Dawson said. "The resurgence in Canadian oil prices and energy stocks is further confirmation that the transportation problems that have prevented both Canada and the U.S. from enjoying the full benefits of the energy boom are easing."
Until recently, crude from Canada's booming tar sands was getting trapped in the Midwest, preventing it from getting to the Gulf where it could be exported at market prices.
But in January, engineers switched on the Seaway Pipeline, which connects the major crude delivery hub in Cushing, Okla., with Gulf refineries. And rail now transports 550,000 barrels of Canadian crude, when five years ago barely 1,000 barrels were processed.
As a result, the price of Canadian oil has since risen to $80.67 a barrel as of Tuesday, about $18 below WTI. In November the gap was as large as $40.
"It's not a necessity today," Chris Theal, president of Kootenay Capital Management in Calgary.
Originally Posted by BigLouie
Who the fuck wrote that article anyway? Micheal Moore?
First off, the pipeline isn't "obsolete" like an 8-track tape player. It hasn't been replaced by a cheaper, better technology.
Pipelines are transportation infrastructure, just like railroads, canals, and highways. And nothing moves liquids and gases more safely or more cheaply than a pipeline. That hasn't changed.
The half million barrels being moved by rail (instead of a pipeline) isn't a good thing. It is a bad thing
If oil prices FELL, then you could make an economic case that the Keystone pipeline should not be built because the oil from Keystone tar sands would be too expensive to produce at the lower price and the pipeline would not pay for itself.
But oil prices are RISING. So that means it is MORE likely that oil from the tar sands can be produced at a profit. So how exactly does that reduce the need for the Keystone pipeline?
The article makes no sense at all.
Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy
