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Help Secure America’s Energy Future! The U.S. Department of State Needs to Hear from You!

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

As issues related to energy and climate continue to be debated in the nation’s capital, policymakers would do well to keep top-of-mind the importance of reliable, affordable resources from Canada Given the 2.5 million barrels of petroleum that Canada sends our way each and every day, our neighbors to the north clearly play a unique role for the U.S. as our closest, strategic trading partner in the world.  In fact, every barrel of crude oil the United States imports from Canada is one less barrel being purchased from people and places in the world whose interests don’t align with ours.

Since IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) recently released a report highlighting that Canadian oil sands production is expected to grow from 1.34 million barrels a day to between 3.1 million and 5.7 million barrels a day by 2030  (which could make up as much as 36 percent of United States oil imports by 2030), it is essential that we have the infrastructure in place to handle those volumes.

To build this needed expansion, Consumer Energy Alliance supports the proposed TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline project and the recently released U.S. State Department’s  Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) – a statement that confirms the delivery of secure, affordable supplies of Canadian energy to American consumers can be done without bringing harm to our environment. But wait: Don’t tell us you missed your chance to weigh-in on the proposed Keystone pipeline with Secretary Clinton? The deadline, after all, was June 1. Or at least it was. Good news is, this week it was announced the deadline will be extended to June 16, 2010 – and CEA is asking for your help to communicate your support for the project to the U.S. State Department.

Securing stable and affordable energy from our North Aerican allies through projects such as the Keystone Pipeline is in our national interest. While a final decision by the State Department has not been made on the Keystone Pipeline, what we’ve seen so far portends positive news for American consumers. And here’s why:

The project will consist of three new pipelines – one from Morgan, Montana to Steele City, Nebraska; another from Cushing, Oklahoma to Nederland, Texas; and the final one, from Liberty County, Texas to Moore Junction, Texas. The Keystone will initially carry 700,000 barrels of crude per day, eventually increasing to 900,000 barrels — significantly strengthening America’s energy and economic security, as well as creating thousands of family supporting jobs along the way. In fact, it is projected that during construction, Keystone XL will create more than 13,000 jobs funded with private investment, as well as additional revenue for local governments from the economic activity associated with construction and from pipeline property taxes.

Considering the economic and energy security benefits of Canada’s vital resources, policymakers should continue to expand America’s access to safe, affordable energy supplies to help ensure improved energy security and stable prices for consumers.

However, as CEA’s Michael Whatley recently mentioned at the Center for North American Energy Security’s energy summit, under a Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), Canada would intentionally be singled out for exclusion. As a result, a nationwide LCFS would shut down projects like the Keystone XL and Alberta Clipper altogether – jeopardizing thousands of jobs and billions in economic activity.

Despite the State Department’s positive draft decision on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, CEA’s grassroots supporters and affiliates will continue to be active contributors to the ongoing debate about commonsense energy legislation can create jobs and help drive down prices at the pump, and how misguided LCFS proposals threaten our nation’s energy security.

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On a Roll: State Dept. One Step Closer to Expanding US-Canadian Energy Partnership

Monday, April 19th, 2010

Just as Reuters reported that China is snapping up resources assets across the globe — including a recent deal to buy ConocoPhillips’ stake in the huge Syncrude project in Canada’s oil sands for $4.65 billion – the U.S. State Department released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on the proposed TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline project. The State Department’s report concludes that the delivery of secure, affordable supplies of Canadian energy to American consumers would have minimal impacts on the environment.

While a final decision by the State Department has not been made on the Keystone Pipeline, this is positive news for American consumers, and here’s why.

The project will consist of three new pipelines – one from Morgan, Montana to Steele City, Nebraska; another from Cushing, Oklahoma to Nederland, Texas; and the final one, from Liberty County, Texas to Moore Junction, Texas. The Keystone will initially carry 700,000 barrels of crude per day, eventually increasing to 900,000 barrels — significantly strengthening America’s energy and economic security, as well as creating hundreds of high-paying, family supporting jobs along the way.

Last year, the U.S. imported 1.5 million barrels of oil a day derived from the Canadian oil sands. Projects like the Keystone XL present the potential to increase North American energy access for U.S. consumers to 4.3 million barrels a day over the next two decades – additional energy that we will no longer be forced to buy from far unstable, unfriendly OPEC nations.

Considering the economic and energy security benefits of Canada’s vital resources, state and national policymakers should work to expand America’s access to secure and affordable energy supplies to help ensure improved stabilize prices for consumers.

Unfortunately, under a Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), Canada would intentionally be singled out for exclusion. In fact, a nationwide LCFS could shut down the Keystone XL and Alberta Clipper projects altogether – jeopardizing countless high-wage jobs and billions in economic activity. An LCFS would also be a major blow to U.S. energy security.

Despite the State Department’s positive draft decision on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, CEA’s nearly 260,000 grassroots supporters and 130 affiliates will continue to be active contributors to the ongoing debate about commonsense energy legislation can create jobs and help drive down prices at the pump, and how misguided LCFS proposals threaten our nation’s energy security.

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CEA Continues to Educate Consumers about Negative Impacts of an LCFS Across the Nation

Monday, February 1st, 2010

Last week various newspapers reported about the special election in Massachusetts and how it could affect the success of President Obama’s policy agenda, including climate change. In fact, The Winnipeg Free Press reports the following in their article, “Obama’s loss is our gain”:

The political setback will stop Obama’s cap-and-trade bill on greenhouse gas emissions dead in its tracks. This is excellent news for Canada. The so-called Waxman-Markey Bill, which was passed by the House by a very narrow margin, would dole out green energy subsidies that various states and municipalities are planning to use to discriminate against Canadian energy imports. It would also designate Canada’s oilsands as “dirty fuel” and prohibit the U.S. federal government from using it.  Even if Canada set up a similar system of cap-and-trade, the chances that American lobbies would start trade action is huge. With good sense and prudence, Ottawa is trying to make Canadian rules as similar as possible to the American regime.

While the status of climate legislation in Washington, D.C. may now be questionable, the threat of Low-Carbon Fuel Standards (LCFS) still exists. Indeed, many states and regions across the nation are working to pass LCFS proposals, particularly in the Mid-West, the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic.

This is why Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) continues to work to educate, inform and engage American consumers about the economic and national security threats that an LCFS poses.  Oilprice.com reports these points in their story, “Canada’s Alluring Energy Supply Regaining it’s Lustre Despite Continued Criticism”:

Some American government officials, including a group of Northeastern governors, are beckoning for a low-carbon fuel standard that would stem Canadian crude oil from spilling into the United States, said Travis Windle, spokesman for the Washington-based Consumer Energy Alliance. The non-partisan group, which advocates wise energy use, is pushing a national advertising campaign about the low-carbon fuel standard.

On the whole, the United States is bent on beefing up its oil ties, Windle noted, adding the reserves account for 20 percent of American energy. Last August, the State Department gave the go-ahead for a pipeline called the Alberta Clipper to carry crude from Canada to U.S. refineries in Wisconsin.

Despite the fact that the Alberta Clipper pipeline is being developed to carry crude from Canada to U.S. refineries in Wisconsin, the Badger State is currently working to pass an LCFS proposal that would actually block these fuel supplies from entering the state.

Fortunately for Wisconsinites, Scott Manley with Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce has been leading the charge on this issue in Wisconsin and educating consumers about the negative consequences of this proposal. In fact, he shares his concerns with Wisconsin’s global warming legislation in the following Green Bay Press Gazette op-ed:

The so-called Low Carbon Fuel Standard would cost Wisconsin motorists more than $3.2 billion in higher gas prices according to the WPRI study. This global warming gas tax could cost consumers as much as 61 cents per gallon according to a study by the Marshall Institute. All told, these expensive policies are projected to cost each Wisconsin family more than $1,000 each year by the time they are fully implemented. Worse yet, the supporters of this misguided bill have not identified any meaningful benefit that would be achieved relative to global temperatures or climate.

Last month Manley took to the pages of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to highlight the devastating economic effects associated the LCFS legislation that was recently introduced. In a column entitled “Global warming bill kills state jobs,” Manley writes:

Wisconsin families cannot afford these tremendously expensive policies given our current recession and fragile economy. Wisconsin has the single-most manufacturing-intensive economy in the country. Our family-supporting manufacturing jobs pay an average wage of $62,959 – more than 35% higher than the state average. Unfortunately, we already have lost 160,000 manufacturing jobs in the past decade, including 60,000 jobs lost since 2008 alone.

In light of the critical effects that an LCFS could have on jobs and the economy in the U.S., the governors in the Mid-West, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic that are currently considering an LCFS – as well as leaders in Washington – should consider these facts and stop these policies while they still can.

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Energy Security 101: University Profs Highlight the Importance Oils Sands, Unconventional Energy Forms

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

As the Senate kicks off hearings today on cap-and-trade, university professors from Oklahoma to Illinois are taking to the opinion pages of local newspapers to lay out, chapter-and-verse, commonsense solutions that will help put the nation on a path toward affordable and reliable energy security.

Chief among their suggestions – rooted in straightforward academic analysis, not politics – was that the US must embrace all forms of energy, especially affordable and reliable reserves right here in our own backyard.

C. John Mann, geology professor (emeritus) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, writes this in a column entitled “Nation must use oil from unconventional sources” in today’s Springfield State Journal-Register, the Land of Lincoln’s oldest newspaper:

If the Obama administration is really interested in reducing U.S. reliance on foreign energy supplies, then it should recognize the value and validity of unconventional oil made from liquefied coal, Canadian oil sands and Western oil shale.

Using these vast resources to meet America’s energy needs would be a boon for U.S. consumers and this country’s energy security. And everyone would benefit from well-paying jobs and revenue that come from producing, processing and refining liquefied coal and oil sands.

A recent decision by the U.S. State Department to support oil-sands production offers at least a glimmer of foresight and flexibility.

Canada’s oil sands formations hold an estimated 173 billion barrels of recoverable oil, making Canada second only to Saudi Arabia in the size of its reserves. The International Energy Agency has said that with future advances in technology as much as 1.7 trillion barrels of Canadian oil sands could be extracted.

Despite protests from environmental groups, the State Department approved a permit for a 1,000-mile-long pipeline that would carry oil from Canada’s oil sands formations in northern Alberta to refineries on Lake Superior in Wisconsin. The Alberta Clipper pipeline will be capable of carrying 800,000 barrels per day of crude oil, shoring up Canada’s position as America’s No. 1 source of foreign oil.

Mann emphasizes the economic and national security risks associated with hampering supplies of affordable and reliable Canadian energy from reaching American consumers, which would be required under a national, one-size-fits-all low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS):

California and Oregon have banned use of oil sands, oil shale and liquefied coal, and several northeastern states reportedly plan to follow suit. At the same time, the U.S. House of Representatives is considering legislation that would impose a national ban in the guise of a low-carbon fuel standard. House members who are pushing for its passage seem heedless of economic consequences.

Quite simply, lawmakers should steer clear of regulations that discriminate between conventional and unconventional fuel sources, as they would exacerbate energy security problems without delivering compensating climate benefits. Imposing greater costs on oil sands producers and the liquefied coal sector will only benefit OPEC and would have little impact on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. Given this country’s increasing rate of unemployment, we can ill-afford to turn our back on unconventional fuels.

The geology professor closes strongly with this:

As the administration works with Congress to develop energy policies, those who shape legislation need to wake up and realize that our country cannot afford to forego the use of unconventional oil. A misguided push to prevent its use can only succeed in undermining our economy.

And David Deming, a University of Oklahoma geologist and associate professor of arts and sciences, writes this in The Oklahoman under the headline “Plenty of oil out there”:

North America contains huge unconventional petroleum resources in the form of tar sands and oil shale. The western U.S. alone is capable of producing at least 2 trillion barrels of petroleum from oil shale. At a current U.S. annual consumption rate of 7 billion barrels, that represents a 286-year supply of oil, none of which would be imported. The value of this resource is $120 trillion, 10 times the size of the national debt.

We should follow Canada’s example. Starting in the 1960s, Canada began to aggressively develop its tar sand resources. As a result, Canadian production is now more than a million barrels per day, and its oil reserves are the second-largest in the world.

Oil is the lifeblood of our industrial economy. The U.S. economy will remain stagnant and depressed until we begin to aggressively develop our native energy resources. We have the technology to produce petroleum from oil shale in a manner that is efficient, economic and environmentally friendly. What’s stopping us is ignorance and bad public policy.

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Ambassador Jacobson, Envoy Must Work to Strengthen Critical Energy Partnership with US

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

This week, Ambassador David Jacobson, the US’s top diplomat in Canada, along with an envoy from Washington, traveled to Alberta to see firsthand how our North American trading partners safely produce oil sands in Alberta. Canada’s sands represent the largest crude oil reserves outside of the Middle East, and help meet nearly 20 percent of the US’s daily energy needs.

Ambassador Jacobson’s visit to Alberta should serve as an opportunity to strengthen our critical energy trading partnership with Canada. While some in Washington are working to pass a nationwide low-carbon fuel mandate, which would effectively restrict Canada’s abundant and secure energy supplies from reaching American consumers, national leaders – including Ambassador Jacobson – have a responsibility to ensure that our nation has access to stable and affordable energy resources.

However, a low carbon fuel standard would not only weaken this critical North American relationship, but it would also deepen our energy dependence on unstable regions of the world, whose fuels are favored under such a mandate.

In an article entitled “New U.S. ambassador to Canada in Alberta to visit oilsands”, the Calgary Herald’s Jason Markusoff and Shaun Polczer reported this yesterday, which was encouraging:

“I understand the importance of the oilsands,” Jacobson said. “I understand the importance of that oil.”

Leaders at the State Department have acted prudently in seeing that the Alberta Clipper project continues to move forward, which will increase our stable energy supplies, our national security and help to create good-paying jobs. With hope, Ambassadors Jacobson’s envoy to Alberta this week will only build upon that success.

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Back to School: CEA Asks NSC to Study Security Risks Associated with an LCFS

Friday, September 18th, 2009

The non-partisan Consumer Energy Alliance, with its nearly 200,000 grassroots supporters and more than 120 affiliates, firmly believes – as independent studies have shown – that a national, one-size-fits-all low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) will be damaging for American consumers, our struggling workforce, and our national security.

Under an LCFS, more carbon intensive energy forms, such as affordable, available, and reliable Canadian oil sands – which help meet one-fifth of the US’s fuel demands – would be discriminated against, giving favor to lighter, sweeter crude oils found in some of the most unstable regions of the world.

To help better assess and shed light on this very serious potential risk, CEA has formally requested that the White House’s top national security advisor, Gen. James L. Jones, and the National Security Council, examine security effects associated with an LCFS, particularly as it would impact the Alberta Clipper pipeline investment, which the State Department gave its blessing to recently.

In the letter, CEA’s president David Holt wrote:

I’m writing to you today to ask the Council to conduct a thorough evaluation of how the advancement of an LCFS policy might impact our national security by casting serious doubt on our ability to make full use of the Alberta Clipper pipeline. With billions of dollars at stake, billions of units of much-needed energy hanging in the balance, and serious implications related to the status of our continued relationship with Canada, it would seem such a request fits well within the interests and mandates of your department. Please know that Consumer Energy Alliance stands ready to assist you in any manner you deem appropriate.

Major news outlets were quick to cover this breaking news, especially in light of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s visit this week to the White House. Under the headline “Canada energy at risk under low-carbon fuel standard: group,” Reuters reported this:

Rules to add costs to fuels that emit the highest levels of carbon dioxide would deny millions of Americans access to stable Canadian energy and add to the nation’s security risks, an interest group backed by oil companies said Thursday.

The Consumer Energy Alliance said a so-called low carbon fuel standard would restrict the use of fuel derived from Canada’s oil sands, a major supplier of crude oil to the United States. The group called for an Obama administration study of of the issue.

Written by Ayesha Rascoe, the Reuters story – which also appeared on Forbes.com and CNBC.com – added this:

U.S. President Barack Obama has expressed support for a low carbon fuel standard but his administration has not taken a tough stance against Canadian oil sands.

With an estimated 173 billion barrels, Canadian oil sands are the largest source of crude outside the Middle East. But development of these reserves requires open pit mines and carbon-spewing processing plants, placing oil sands producers at a disadvantage under any fuel standard that rewards low carbon sources.

The group argued that a low carbon fuel standard would hinder the nation’s ability to take advantage of the recently approved $3.3 billion Alberta Clipper pipeline project, which will mostly transport crude from the oil sands.

The threat of an LCFS is very real. American consumers cannot afford higher prices at the pump, and we cannot allow several powerful policymakers to move us on path toward even further dependence on unstable regions of the world to keep our economy moving. Tell your representatives to stand up for working-families, small businesses, manufacturers and retirees, and to fight LCFS efforts in Congress.

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CEA Asks National Security Advisor to Analyze Security Risks of a Low-Carbon Fuel Standard

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Letter to Gen. Jones comes on heels of China’s $1.7 billion investment in two Alberta oil sands projects, State Department approval of Alberta Clipper

HOUSTON – How could the passage of a Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) in Washington adversely impact U.S. security, all while costing American workers thousands of high-wage jobs and billions in lost revenue? That’s the question Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) president David Holt put before President Obama’s national security advisor today, asking Gen. James L. Jones and the National Security Council to take a closer look at the security consequences underlying an LCFS. A copy of the letter can be accessed here.

“Fundamental to the future of America’s security is the extent to which our ability to access secure, affordable North American energy supplies is protected, preserved and responsibly expanded,” said Holt, whose 120-plus member organization advocates the thoughtful use of a broad array of renewable, alternative and conventional energy sources, while also promoting conservation. “A Low-Carbon Fuel Standard represents a direct attack on that future, putting in place new bans on secure, Canadian energy at precisely the time we should be doing everything we can to reinforce those ties, strengthen them, and leverage the availability of secure, affordable energy to create jobs, revenues and opportunity here at home.”

Last month, the State Department granted a key permit to the Alberta Clipper project — upon completion, a pipeline through which 450,000 barrels of secure, Canadian energy is expected to travel its way to the United States each day. The imposition of an LCFS, however, aims to prevent that Canadian energy from crossing the border, forcing Americans to fill that vacuum with energy from foreign, often unstable suppliers.

In full recognition of the LCFS threat, Canada recently opened its doors to a major investment in its oil sands region by the Chinese government, as the state-owned oil giant PetroChina inked a $1.7 billion USD deal to develop two separate projects in Alberta. Previous to this news, it was always assumed that the majority of energy derived from Canada’s oil sands would be made available to the United States. After it, those who viewed the oil sands as a one-buyer market were thoroughly disabused of that notion.

“From the start, LCFS advocates have premised their support on the idea that all you’d need to destroy the Canadian oil sands market is have Congress pass an LCFS, and thus ban that energy from crossing the U.S. border,” added Holt. “China’s investment in the region should put an end to all that talk. They want this energy, are prepared to come take it, and in the process of using it, will emit significantly more carbon dioxide than if that energy was sent to its original destination. The upshot? American security is weakened, our economy takes a serious hit, and a major world competitor gains access to a secure, affordable resource right in our front yard.”

NOTE: Click HERE to view the Reuters piece filed on this issue. And visit SecureOurFuels.org to view our latest television and radio ads, and learn more about how an LCFS will increase energy costs for American consumers and expand our dependence on foreign, unstable regions of the world to fuel our economy.

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North American Energy > OPEC

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

This week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper traveled to Washington to meet with President Obama and congressional leaders on Capitol Hill.

CEA’s David Holt, who released this statement about yesterday’s meeting, was quoted in today’s Globe and Mail:

“Canada is among our most important economic and strategic partners and a critical supplier of secure, affordable energy to American consumers; indeed, we get more of our energy from Canada than any other country in the world,” said David Holt, president of Consumer Energy Alliance, an alliance of big energy producers and consumers.

The benefits of preserving our relationship with Canada on energy are overwhelming: increased security, reduced dependence from unstable regions of the world – including OPEC – the creation of good-paying American jobs, and stable energy costs for all American consumers, small businesses, manufacturers and retirees.

In fact, an Associated Press article that appeared in today’s Bemidi Pioneer under the headline “Pipeline brings economic bliss to Bemidji” about the Alberta Clipper pipeline project highlighted the significant economic impacts associated with US-Canadian energy development:

The influx of workers building the new Alberta Clipper oil pipeline across northern Minnesota has meant a shortage of rental housing in the Bemidji area.

Some homeowners are renting rooms to pipeline workers and a local hotel that’s been closed for several years may reopen as construction activity ramps up.

Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce President Lori Paris says that despite the housing struggles, construction of the pipeline has pumped up the local economy and benefited the hospitality industry.

Enbridge Energy says some 3,000 employees will eventually be working on the $8 billion pipeline expansion.

Prime Minister Harper’s commonsense commitment toward working with the US government on energy security is commendable. And according to a Toronto Sun column today, he also understands that Canada’s oil sands are “a key engine of [the] economy.”

Will leaders here in Washington come to realize that blocking Canadian energy supplies from reaching American consumers, as well discouraging the development of oil shale and other non-conventional energy forms here at a home, through a low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) would weaken our energy security, threaten jobs and potentially force prices at the pump to spike?

Be a part of the fight for affordable energy. Contact your representative and tell them not to turn our backs on North American energy.

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CEA: Canadian Energy Critical to US Economy, National Security

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

With Prime Minister Harper in Washington, non-partisan consumer group calls on North American leaders to reject LCFS proposals

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier today, Prime Minister Steven Harper met with President Barack Obama to discuss a number of critical issues – and energy, as expected, was among the most prominent. David Holt, president of Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA), issued this statement in response:

“Canada is among our most important economic and strategic partners and a critical supplier of secure, affordable energy to American consumers; indeed, we get more of our energy from Canada than any other country in the world. It’s a relationship that very much serves our interest to preserve, protect and strengthen – and we’re hopeful that today’s meeting between President Obama and Prime Minister Harper serves to do precisely that.

“In plain terms, though, this relationship would be put in serious peril if efforts in Congress to pass a Low-Carbon Fuel Standard scheme were ultimately successful. It’s our hope these two world leaders had the occasion to discuss this threat, and that President Obama had the chance to hear firsthand how serious the consequences surrounding a policy like that would be.”

“While an LCFS may sound attractive, its intent and purpose is to ban affordable and reliable North American energy from reaching American consumers. The result? Increase American energy dependence on some of the most unstable regions of the world and significantly higher fuel prices for consumer, businesses and farmers throughout the nation.”

Known as CEA’s “Secure Our Fuels” campaign, the work of enlisting the American people in support of affordable energy nationwide kicked off several two weeks ago with radio and television ads running in several key states to engage those who stand to be most impacted under an LCFS. Visit SecureOurFuels.org to view our latest television and radio ads, and learn more about how an LCFS will increase energy costs for American consumers while expanding our dependence on foreign, unstable regions of the world to fuel our economy.

NOTE:

  • In a positive development, the US State Department recently helped strengthening our critical energy partnership with Canada. In August, an executive order was signed, helping to ensure that the Alberta Clipper pipeline project continues to move forward, which will help deliver more affordable energy from one of our closest allies to America’s small businesses, working families and retirees. Click HERE to read more about this commonsense, job-creating development.
  • Legislative proposals, such as a low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS), which was originally included in the Waxman-Markey climate bill, would effectively ban Canadian energy from reaching American consumers. This would invariably raise gas prices at the pump and expand our dependence on energy from some of the most unfriendly regions of the world. Studies have even determined that an LCFS may even increase greenhouse gas emissions. It is expected that the US Senate – either as a stand-alone bill, or as part of a large climate-change proposal – will consider an LCFS this fall.

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ICYMI: MN Radio on Alberta Clipper: “On a scale of one to 10, this project is a 12″

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

Business, unions laud energy project

  • “So this pipeline coming along at this time of the year for these guys is just one heck of a shot in the arm,” Dan Kingsley, a representative of the equipment operators union based in Virginia, Minn., said.
  • “For those businesses that have kind of been on the fence, now they’re seeing a big swing in, especially the dining and lodging, as well as just regular provisions and things,” Paris said. “Those folks are really doing gangbusters.”


Oil pipeline pumping millions of dollars into area communities
Minnesota Public Radio
By Tom Robertson
September 16, 2009

Bemidji, Minn. — A controversial new oil pipeline called the Alberta Clipper has created thousands of construction jobs across northern Minnesota and is pumping millions of dollars into communities all along the pipeline route.

The pipeline will carry crude oil from the tar sands of Alberta, Canada to a refinery in Superior, Wisconsin. Project manager Jack Olin of Enbridge Energy said it’s an $8 billion expansion.

“On a scale of one to 10, this project is a 12,” Olin said. “It’s an incredibly large-scale project, a once in a lifetime build, literally.”

The Alberta Clipper is a 36-inch pipeline that will eventually carry 19 million gallons of oil a day.

The Canadian section of the pipeline is about 600 miles long, and the U.S. segment stretches 326 miles, most of it in Minnesota. It runs from the northwestern tip of the state, along a line through Thief River Falls, Clearbrook and Bemidji, then eastward through Deer River, Grand Rapids, and finally to Superior.

Another stretch of new pipeline called the Southern Lights will run 188 miles from Clearbrook to Superior.

Work on the pipeline is just gearing up, but eventually some 3,000 workers will be on the job across northern Minnesota. The project is expected to be completed by early next summer.

Many workers were hired locally through the union halls, but about half are professional pipeliners like Roger Martin, a foreman who comes from Monticello, Ark.

“You’re going to be booming the hotels, you’re going to be booming the little convenience stores, the hardware stores,” Martin said. “We’re going to be spending our money right here in their communities and stuff, so it’s a big impact on communities around here.”

Enbridge estimates the workers will spend $60 million on lodging, gas, food and recreation. Some bring their families along and rent houses or apartments.

The company and its contractors will spend an additional $110 million locally for construction-related purchases, ranging from lumber and concrete to trucking and landscaping services.

The influx of workers in the Bemidji area has meant a shortage of rental housing. Some homeowners are renting out rooms to pipeline workers, and a local hotel that’s been closed for several years may reopen. Contractors even approached Bemidji State University to see if there was housing available in the dorms, but with enrollment up this year, BSU didn’t have the space.

Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce President Lori Paris said, despite the housing struggles, construction of the pipeline has meant a big surge in economic activity in the Bemidji area.

“For those businesses that have kind of been on the fence, now they’re seeing a big swing in, especially the dining and lodging, as well as just regular provisions and things,” Paris said. “Those folks are really doing gangbusters.”

Other segments of the regional economy have been struggling during the recession. Construction is down, the timber industry is stagnant, and many equipment operators, truck drivers and laborers have been unemployed.

“So this pipeline coming along at this time of the year for these guys is just one heck of a shot in the arm,” Dan Kingsley, a representative of the equipment operators union based in Virginia, Minn., said.

Kingsley said the project has put hundreds of union members back to work.

“It’s been very, very positive for us, coming at a very opportune time with the economy being slow,” Kingsley said. “We have a tremendous amount of people sitting out of work, in between projects right now.”

Not everyone is happy about the Alberta Clipper. A coalition of environmental groups filed a lawsuit in federal court to halt construction of the pipeline. The groups contend that oil extracted from the tar sands region of Alberta is among the dirtiest in the world, and claim that refining it will release more pollutants and contribute to global warming.

NOTE: Click HERE to view this article online.

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