KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE'S ROUTE THROUGH NEBRASKA'S SAND HILLS WAS MAIN REASON FOR THE DELAY, SAYS BACKGROUNDER REPORT OF THE CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE

摘要

A recent report, Keystone XL Pipeline Project: Key Issues, released by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) stipulates that the delay of a presidential decision, through the U.S. Department of State, on TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, stems preeminently from public and Federal concerns about the pipeline's route crossing the Sand Hills region of Nebraska. The pipeline, an extension of TransCanada's existing Keystone pipeline, which would transport up to 830,000 b/d crude oil from the oil sands region of Alberta, Canada, to the market hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, for refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast, was designed to transit the Sand Hills, which sit atop the massive Ogallala Aquifer, one of the world's largest aquifers that provides groundwater to about 30% of the U.S. Unconventional ail sands production is increasing as is production from the Bakken and other areas of the U.S. Midwest.