Obama Should Support the Keystone Pipeline

[Mircea]

If you guys don't know what you're talking about, please educate yourselves. There are many universities that offer courses in either petro-chemical engineering, organic chemistry, or both.

This thread is nearly void of substantive facts.

Originally Posted by Winter_Sucks

As a Democrat, I think Obama should support the Keystone oil pipeline. This is a hot issue with liberals and environmentalists. As long as it is done safely, I think it would be good for the US and Canadian economies. I would rather see the US getting oil from an ally and trading partner, Canada, than from the other countries we import oil from.

No, wrong. The oil is tar sands oil, specifically Canadian Hardisty.

It is an heavy oil. The US has no need for heavy oil, but the rest of the world, in particular developing nations do.

You need light crude oil, specifically, light sweet (low sulfur) crude oil, and you have none.

It is light sweet (low sulfur) crude oil that allows you to live the Extravagant American Life-Styleâ„¢.

There is no other oil on Earth that will allow you to live the Extravagant American Life-Styleâ„¢...

...except for light sweet (low sulfur) crude oil.

If you want to live the Extravagant American Life-Styleâ„¢ then you must have light sweet (low sulfur) crude oil. It is most unfortunate, because you have no light sweet (low sulfur) crude oil anywhere in North America.

That is not politics, that is paleo-geology, geology, physics and organic chemistry. If you don't like it, then blame Jesus, or Allah, or the Cone-heads, or the Reptilian shape-shifters, or Obama, or since you're a Democrat, blame Bush, or blame all Republicans.

Get over it already.

Originally Posted by Winter_Sucks

I think my liberal friends should realize that if we get oil closer to home, that means we will be using less oil in the long run just based on the fact that the oil will travel a lot less distance to get to the US.

That is so bizarre I don't even know how to retort to that.

Originally Posted by CancerianMoonPrincess

Why not just drill in Alaska? You know, in our own territory?

Because the only thing in Alaska is heavy sour (high sulfur) crude oil, which you have no need for.

Here's a brilliant idea: Let's ban foreign imported light sweet crude oil that gives us 22-25 gallons of gasoline per 42 gallon barrel of oil, and start using are own "home-grown" heavy sour, which will give us a whopping 9 gallons of gasoline per 42 gallon barrel of oil.

Can you say Gasoline Shortage and $12/gallon gasoline?

Originally Posted by Winter_Sucks

I think their hearts are in the right place, they just need to realize getting off oil is a long-term goal and can't happen too quickly. I think we need to get off oil, but as part of that transition I would rather get it from Canada in the present and future until that reality can actually happen.

You can never get off oil. Sorry. That's Life 101.

If you want to live the Extravagant American Life-Styleâ„¢ then you must have light sweet (low sulfur) crude oil.

If you are ready and willing to live a late-1960s/early 1970s life-style, then by all means, get off of imported foreign light sweet (low sulfur) crude oil.

Just think of the benefits: no liquid laundry detergent so people would lose weight dragging around big boxes of powdered laundry detergent, cheap generic pharmaceuticals, because you would not be able to make even one drug that has been put on the market since 1994 -- and that alone has benefits since the life span of Americans will be reduced back to about 69 years and you'll save loads of money on Social Security and Medicare benefits -- smaller grocery stores, since thousands of products will no longer be filling your grocer's freezer cases, and no more aisles and aisle of health and beauty aids, and for you men -- what a great deal, only 12 shades of lipstick, eye-liner and make-up to choose from -- no more of that stupid glossy or frosted lipstick or eye-shadow -- and your clothing will be less flamboyant -- check out the wonderful plethora of colors and hues in clothing in an 1974 JC Penny or Montgomery Ward catalog (make sure you have a barf bag handy and the less stout should have defibrillator paddles available to restart your hearts -- some of you might want to call 911 and have the paramedics come in advance).

Sounds great, no?

Originally Posted by Lawman_Kyle

This project was a union project which is held to the highest of standards.

Yeah, the wonderful unions who refused to work for two months resulting in a delay in opening the nursing home at the Cincinnati VA hospital. Gotta love unions.

Originally Posted by Interlude

Do we have any assurances that the oil will be used here?

No, absolutely none, and in fact, you don't have the refinery capacity to refine heavy oils, which is why you export a lot of your heavy oil from Alaska and California.

Originally Posted by Interlude

Why wouldn't the oil companies just put it on a tanker in TX and ship it to China?

They will. Those are processing facilities in Texas, not refineries. Processing facilities remove water, particulate matter and heavy metals (like nickel, vanadium, mercury, chromium and uranium) from oil.

After it is processed, then it can be refined.

Originally Posted by MiamiRob

Well that is what they already doing! Alaskan crude goes to Japan first! Why? they pay more than Americans do since they have no oil. The whole notion that America needs to drill to drop Oil prices is a hoax.

That is heavy oil, which you don't need and can't use.

Originally Posted by MiamiRob

Amazing that Venuzuela which is considered a Marxist/ Socialist government by US standards and has a state run Oil industry charges 78 cents for a gallon of gas.

And Venezuela has something you are willing to die for: light sweet (low sulfur) crude oil.

Too bad the US has none.

Originally Posted by rikoshaprl

Producing gas and oil produces tax revenue and jobs. Do you think the US needs these? The pipeline does the same.

Originally Posted by nei

It doesn't matter if some of the pipeline oil would go elsewhere. It's still raising the supply of oil, lowering the price. Oil is traded on the world market.

Canada, Heavy Hardisty 22°

Week ending:

9/30 $73.36
10/07 $73.36
10/14 $73.83
10/21 $81.98
10/28 $85.26
11/04 $89.62

From the EIA.

Yes, oil is traded on the world market, however there are benchmark prices for all of the many different kinds of oil.

Tar sands oil, like Canadian Hardisty is garbage oil. It is useless to you, unless you have a thing for asphalt, tar, bitumens, petroleum jellies and lubricants.

Oh yeah, birth control pills. And I do mean the pill, and not the patch, and I also mean "the Pill" as in the first pill introduced in the US (newer birth control pills rely on light sweet crude oil imported from foreign countries since the US has no light sweet crude oil).

As you can plainly see, heavy oils sell for a lot less than intermediate or light oils, and the reason is that the whole of Earth is awash in more heavy oil than it needs.

Intermediate and light oils are not as plentiful, and they are more useful, and so they have higher prices than heavy oils.