as introduced - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 02/15/2013 08:30am
A resolution
urging the President and the United States Department of State to approve the
Presidential Permit application allowing the construction and operation of the
TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline between the United States and Canada.
WHEREAS, the United States accounts for 20 percent of world energy consumption and
is the world's largest petroleum consumer. The United States consumes more than 18 million
barrels of oil each day, and forecasts suggest this will not change for decades. Current imports
amount to over eight million barrels each day, approximately 50 percent of the United States'
requirements; and
WHEREAS, even with new technology, oil discoveries, alternative fuels, and conservation
efforts, the United States will remain dependent on imported energy for decades to come. A secure
supply of crude oil is not only needed for Americans to continue to heat their homes, cook their
food, and drive their vehicles, but to allow the United States economy to thrive and grow free from
the potential threats and disruptions of crude oil supply from less secure parts of the world; and
WHEREAS, the growing production of conflict-free oil from Canada's oil sands and the
Bakken formation in Saskatchewan, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota can replace crude
oil imported from countries that do not share American values, but additional pipeline capacity to
refineries in the United States Midwest and Gulf Coast is required; and
WHEREAS, increasing energy imports from Canada makes sense for the United States.
Canada is a trusted neighbor with a stable democratic government, strong environmental
standards equal to that of the United States, and some of the most stringent human rights and
worker protection legislation in the world; and
WHEREAS, improvements in production technology have reduced the carbon footprint
of Canadian oil sands development by 26 percent on a per barrel basis since 1990. Oil sands
production accounts for 6.9 percent of Canada's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 0.1 percent
(1/1000th) of global GHG emissions. Total emissions from Canada's oil sands sector was 48
megatons in 2010, equivalent to 0.5 percent of United States GHG emissions. Oil sands crude has
similar carbon dioxide emissions to other heavy oils and is nine percent more carbon-intensive
than the average crude refined in the United States on a wells-to-wheels basis; and
WHEREAS, the 57 refineries in the Gulf Coast region provide a total refining capacity of
approximately 8.7 million barrels per day, or half of United States. refining capacity. In 2011,
these refineries imported approximately five million barrels per day of crude oil from more than
30 countries, with the top four suppliers being Mexico (22 percent), Saudi Arabia (17 percent),
Venezuela (16 percent), and Nigeria (nine percent). Imports from Mexico and Venezuela are
declining as production from those countries decreases and supply contracts expire. Once
completed, TransCanada's Keystone XL and Gulf Coast Expansion projects could displace roughly
40 percent of the oil the United States currently imports from the Persian Gulf and Venezuela; and
WHEREAS, the Keystone XL pipeline project has been subject to the most thorough
public consultation process of any proposed United States pipeline, and the subject of multiple
environmental impact statements and several United States Department of State studies, which
have concluded that it poses the least impact to the environment and is much safer than other
modes of transporting crude oil; and
WHEREAS, pipelines are the safest method for the transportation of petroleum products
when compared to other methods of transportation. Pipelines are 40 times safer than moving
crude oil by rail and 100 times safer than transporting by truck. Keystone XL will replace the
equivalent of a tanker train 25 miles long, or 200 ocean tankers per year. This will reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 19 million tons, or the equivalent of taking almost
four million cars off the road; and
WHEREAS, the Keystone XL project will create approximately 9,000 construction jobs.
The Gulf Coast project is a $2.3 billion project that will create approximately 4,000 construction
jobs. Combined, they support yet another 7,000 manufacturing jobs. Seventy-five percent of the
pipe used to build Keystone XL in the United States will come from North American mills,
including half made by United States workers. Goods for the pipeline valued at approximately
$800 million have already been sourced from United States manufacturers; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it memorializes
the President to support the continued and increased importation of oil derived from Canadian
oil sands, and urges the United States Secretary of State to approve the newly routed pipeline
application from TransCanada to reduce dependence on unstable governments, improve our
national security, and strengthen ties with an important ally.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is
directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United
States, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of
the United States House of Representatives, the United States Secretary of State, and Minnesota's
Senators and Representatives in Congress.