TransCanada is preparing its pro-Keystone XL pitch to Democratic lawmakers as the Republican-controlled House prepares for today’s vote on a measure that would strip the president’s authority on pipeline approval, allowing Congress to push it through without a full environmental review.
Republicans have been vocal in their support for swift Keystone approval, joined by Democrats with close ties to the fossil energy industry and unions such as the influential AFL-CIO. Poised to benefit from the transportation of more than 800,000 barrels a day, TransCanada is targeting Democrats on the fence. In the first few months of the year, the company spent $280,000 on lobbying efforts.
In March 2012, Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) took to the Senate floor to push for Keystone approval. He offered an amendment that would have paved the way for the pipeline, but it didn’t generate the 60 votes needed, failing 56-42.
Approval was dependent on support from Democrats on the fence — 11 voted in favor, while Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both of Oregon, were among those opposed. Democratic-leaning independent Sens. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernie Sanders of Vermont joined the opposition.
Republicans Sens. John Thune of South Dakota and Mark Kirk of Illinois did not vote.
This year, with a new class of senators, Keystone advocates hope their luck will turn.
Montana’s Democratic Sen. Max Baucus, who represents the first state along the Keystone route, joined Hoeven to introduce a bill approving the pipeline. Baucus was joined by 13 other sponsors, six of whom are Democrats.
“This is about one simple thing: jobs,” Baucus said in a press release. “At a time when job creation must be our number one priority, approving the Keystone Pipeline is the perfect opportunity to put Montanans, and folks across the country, to work right now. American workers cannot afford to wait any longer for Keystone jobs, and there is absolutely no excuse for further delay.”
A week later, the same bipartisan coalition introduced an amendment that would put “the U.S. Senate on record in support” of Keystone XL. The non-binding measure passed 62-37, highlighting the possibility of Senate support on future Keystone-approval legislation.
“Passing this Keystone XL amendment demonstrates with the clarity and firmness of a formal vote that the U.S. Senate supports the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline and finds it in the national interest of the American people,” Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) said in a press release. “The amendment recognizes that the country will benefit from the pipeline by adding tens of thousands of jobs for Americans, billions of dollars to our economy and new tax revenue for our local, state and federal governments.”
TransCanada wooing undecided Democrats
Seemingly out of patience, TransCanada is now lobbying undecided Democrats to push for Keystone approval.
The monetary stakes for Canadian oil companies are high, with estimates that $30 billion worth of oil is trapped without access to outside markets due to lack of transportation routes, according to CBC News.
Keystone XL would help ease that burden.
Canadian Oil Sands CEO Marcel Coutu told Reuters in January the investment company is banking on Keystone approval, with the understanding the pipeline is necessary to sell investors on Canadian oil.
“We are hedging and making sure we are going to have pipe capacity for most of our product as we get through what will continue to be a couple of tough years here in 2013 (and) 2014,” Coutu said.
In a May interview with Bloomberg, Coutu reiterated the industry’s reliance on Keystone’s success.
“Investors are telling us that Canadian producers are less interesting to invest in until Keystone is resolved,” he told the news agency.
In April, Canadian Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver traveled to Washington to meet with Wyden, who serves as the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and represented a voice of dissent in the push for swift Congressional Keystone approval.
They were joined by Republican Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan, along with U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.
Wyden refused to disclose details of the meeting to Bloomberg News.
“In a fragile economy, we ought to be looking at approaches that address our country’s needs,” he told the news agency.
Next month, Canada is dispatching its Association of Petroleum Producers, which represents TransCanada, to target undecided Democrats.
In an interview with Bloomberg News, the association’s president, David Collyer, said the visit is meant to tip the scales in favor of approval, with a focus on “moderate Democrats, those who are perhaps on the fence, who are perhaps looking for more information as to what will inform their decision.”
The Keystone XL saga began in 2008, when TransCanada announced the project and the State Department began an environmental review. After Congress passed legislation forcing a quick decision before the review process had been completed, President Barack Obama rejected a modified permit application in 2012 but invited TransCanada to re-apply. At the heart of his decision was the need for a thorough environmental impact statement. While initially set to be published this spring, the public has yet to see the final results.
Obama’s decision is expected to be made this year, although a timeline has not been set.
Congressional approval would set the stage for immediate construction of the 1,700-mile pipeline stretching from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico capable of pumping more than 800,000 barrels of oil a day. Obama has, however, opposed Congressional efforts to push forward with Keystone before release of the environmental review, threatening to veto any such legislation.