02.16.12

Hoeven: DOE Report Shows Keystone XL Would Lower Gas Prices

Report Also Shows Crude Would Be Used in the U.S., Not Exported

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today urged U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu to pursue energy infrastructure projects such as the Keystone XL pipeline, citing an Energy Department report that stated the Keystone XL pipeline would transport oil to be refined in the United States, and it would lower U.S. gas prices.

“Here we have rising gas prices, putting a strain on our consumers, on business, on the economy, and yet the administration turns down a project that would help us reduce gasoline prices,” Hoeven said.

Currently, the average price of gas in the United States is more than $3.50 per gallon, higher than it has ever been at this time of year. Experts predict that it could rise to $5 per gallon in some areas this summer. Gas prices have risen 90 percent since President Obama took office in 2009.

An Energy Department report from its expert Dr. Carmine Difiglio stated that the Keystone XL pipeline would lower gas prices in the U.S. Gulf Coast, East Coast and Midwest. It also stated that oil from the Keystone XL pipeline would be refined in the United States, contrary to the claims of some of the project’s opponents. The United States retains 99 percent of the crude oil and uses 97 percent of gasoline refined in the country.

The Keystone XL pipeline would also reduce fuel truck traffic, especially in bottleneck regions across the country, as well as reduce the country’s dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Additionally, one-half of Canadian oil sands development is done using in situ technology, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Going forward, 80 percent of Canadian oil sand crude will be recovered with in situ technology, which has a similar environmental footprint as traditional drilling practices.

Secretary Chu agreed with Hoeven on the importance of increasing U.S. pipeline infrastructure. He also affirmed that the migration to in situ development in the Canadian oil sands will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Hoeven, along with Senators Dick Lugar of Indiana and David Vitter of Louisiana, have offered legislation authorizing the Keystone XL project as an amendment to a two-year highway transportation authorization bill on which the Senate is expected to vote soon. The highway transportation bill aims to address the country’s infrastructure needs, and the Keystone XL pipeline is energy infrastructure that is vital to the nation’s economic growth and energy security.