President Barack Obama has expressed plans to fast-track an oil pipeline, directing federal agencies to expedite the construction of a 780km pipeline to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast from Oklahoma. The pipeline would help to alleviate a critical bottleneck in the oil transportation system and the directive would also apply to other pipelines that help to lessen choke points. The pipeline plan emerged after the president delayed TransCanada’s larger Keystone XL project, earlier in the year.
Obama announced his plans in Maljamar, N.M. last week and construction on the expedited pipeline, which is a southern portion of the original Keystone XL in Cushing, OK, is expected to commence in the spring.
The president has been met with criticism regarding his energy policies as many believe the government has made more investments in renewable energy, as the gas prices have reached all-time highs and Obama rejected the Keystone proposal. Though much of the rising gas prices can be attributed to the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program which has threatened to disrupt oil supplies in the Middle East, many view the rising prices as representative of Obama’s energy record. The rising prices could take away from the proposed benefits of a payroll tax cut that he made the focal point of his jobs agenda previously and threaten Obama’s re-election bid. Other presidential hopefuls have been pushing the Obama administration to open up more federal land for leases in order to boost domestic oil production and revenue for the government.
Though the Keystone XL project has been a debate, TransCanada is hopeful that the portion of the pipeline stretching from Oklahoma to Texas will be completed next year once approval to begin construction is received.