Southern leg of Keystone pipeline a "priority," Obama says
President Barack Obama waves as he arrives at the TransCanada Stillwater Pipe Yard in Cushing, Okla., Thursday, March, 22, 2012.
/ AP Photo/Pablo Martinez MonsivaisUpdated at 12:10 p.m. ET
(CBS News) Amid criticism he isn't doing enough to beat back rising gas prices, President Obama Thursday said he is calling on his administration "to cut through red tape, break through bureaucratic hurdles," and make the Southern leg of the controversial Keystone pipeline "a priority."
"Producing more oil and gas here at home has been, and will continue to be, a critical part of our all-of-the-above strategy," Mr. Obama said from Cushing, Oklahoma, the site where the Southern portion of the pipeline will begin construction.
Mr. Obama's stop in Cushing was part of a four-state, two-day tour in which the president touted his energy policies. Standing next to the giant TransCanada pipes that will make up the Southern leg of the Keystone pipeline, Mr. Obama sought to remind voters that he's not opposed to domestic oil drilling.
In fact, "we're drilling all over the place right now," the president said, citing his administration's directive to open up millions of acres for oil and gas exploration in 23 states. Under his watch, Mr. Obama said, the number of operating oil rigs has reached a record high, he said, and the U.S. has added enough new oil and gas pipeline to "circle the Earth and then some."
The Southern leg of the Keystone pipeline should be a priority, he said, to free up the "bottleneck" of oil heading to refineries. "If we could, it would help us increase our oil supplies at a time where we need as much as possible," he said.Cushing is a major trading hub for crude oil, but the industry says a bottleneck in pipeline there has backed up its use. TransCanada Corporation plans to lay pipe through Cushing as part of its Keystone project. The Keystone pipeline is ultimately planned to link the tar sands fields of northern Alberta to oil refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.
TransCanada announced last month it will proceed with the construction of pipeline from Cushing to the U.S. Gulf Coast -- a portion of the Keystone project that the company says has its own independent value. In the meantime, the company is waiting for executive approval for the Northern portion.
Mr. Obama rejected an attempt from Congress late last year to expedite the construction of the full pipeline, citing the need for more time to study the environmental and safety risks.
The president acknowledged today the issue has "generated a lot of controversy and a lot of politics," but he attributed to the controversy specifically to concerns about its original route through a critical Nebraska aquifer.
Keystone controversy continues as Obama visits Cushing
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"Nebraskans of all political stripes, including the Republican governor there, raised some concerns about the wisdom of that route," he said. While TransCanada has said it will re-route the pipeline, Mr. Obama maintained, "The Northern portion of [the pipeline], we're going to have to review appropriately to protect the health and safety of the American people."
Republicans have lambasted the president for holding up the project and are citing a new Gallup poll showing public support for the pipeline.
"People recognize his blocking of the Keystone pipeline is hurting our gas prices, it is making us more dependent on foreign energy," Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said Thursday.
The Associated Press this week produced a statistical analysis of 36 years of monthly, inflation-adjusted gasoline prices and U.S. domestic oil production, showing no statistical correlation between how much oil comes out of U.S. wells and the price at the pump.
Anyone who says drilling alone will bring down gas prices, Mr. Obama said today, is either "not paying attention" or "not playing it straight."
Mr. Obama maintained his commitment to clean energy development, pointing out that the production of wind power has nearly tripled in Oklahoma over the past three years.
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I hate to bring this up Thune, but what country is this oil coming from?
The lower portion of the pipeline DIDN'T NEED obama's approval. It had ALREADY been approved by the Army Corp of Engineers & the appropriate state agencies and had already begun. You could NEVER trust someone who takes credit for something he had NOTHING to do with.
And WITHOUT the Canadian connection, this is of little help to our rising prices.
Drilling permits under obama are DOWN 36%.
Imports have fallen, in part, because the United States has increased domestic oil and gas production in recent years.
U.S. crude oil production increased by an estimated 120,000 barrels a day last year over 2010, the report says. Current production, about 5.6 million barrels a day, is the highest since 2003.
There are only two types of people that still support Barack Hussein Obama:
1. The true socialist/communist because you support his socialist/communist policies
2. The ignorant because you don't have a clue
Think about it.
3. Those that like the fact that we're out of Iraq.
4. Those that like the fact that the economy is vastly improving over the nightmare scenario that the republicans created.
5. Those that like the fact that Bin Laden is dead.
6........
1. The true socialist/communist because you support his socialist/communist policies
2. The ignorant because you don't have a clue
Think about it.
You just can't make this stuff up, can you?
Consumption in the US is down - not up - so... based on normal laws of demand and supply - with oil production at an 8 year high, prices should come down... The are not because it is the world demand for oil that drives the price - not what the US produces.
Your comments are totally wrong (that was the least offensive word I could come up with).
Offshore drilling in Virginia is an economic winner
By: P. DALE BENNETT | Times-Dispatch
Published: August 01, 2011 Updated: August 01, 2011 - 12:00 AM
Last week the U.S. reached a tragic and avoidable milestone in its dependence on foreign oil: On Monday, the total value of oil imports eclipsed $200 billion for 2011. This is money that without a doubt could have been better spent creating American jobs or paying down our escalating debt . . .
Obama: No more offshore drilling in Gulf of Mexico until 2017
The Obama administration reversed its decision to expand offshore drilling, saying it had learned from the BP spill. . .
Plus we all know Obama vetoed any progress on the Keystone Pipeline in January of this year. Where do you get your information??? Try doing your own reading and researching before you comment.
Suckers!!!!
President Obama is not about reducing the price of oil, and this is not about him wanting to help hurting Americans - it is about President Obama seeing himself slip in the polls.
President Obama's Secretary of Energy Steven Chu let us know that President Obama is not about reducing the price of oil, and President Obama (himself) has told us in the past where his mind is concerning energy. I have posted this before, and here I go to post it again. Why? Because it is relevant, and Americans need to understand how impractical and cold this President is.
Gas is projected to hit record highs this summer, but his administration does not seem to care.
"Politico: By ALEX GUILLEN | 2/28/12 6:37 PM EST
The Energy Department isn't working to lower gasoline prices directly, Secretary Steven Chu said Tuesday after a Republican lawmaker scolded him for his now-infamous 2008 comment that gas prices in the U.S. should be as high as in Europe.
Instead, DOE is working to promote alternatives such as biofuels and electric vehicles, Chu told House appropriators during a hearing on DOE's budget."
If Americans want to know why we are going to be stuck with massive oil price increases this summer, we have to look no farther than President Obama's administration. High gas prices don't just slam people at the pump, every product that is transported by fossil fuel will have to include the increased transportation cost in the prices in the stores. This will hit the poor and middle income Americans very hard, and it will hurt those on fixed incomes (the elderly) the worst. Not only that, vacations will be cut - nailing the crap out of states that depend on tourism. High gas prices will cut the legs out from under the small amount of recovery that we have experienced.
In an interview Barrack Obama did with the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board very early in the presidential campaign, January 2008 - he said the following:
"Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Coal-powered plants, you know, natural gas, you name it, whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers."
Does this sound like someone who is concerned with Americans suffering under the weight of high energy costs? NO. President Obama is a radical extremist with a consuming ideology that outweighs any concern that he has for suffering Americans. He has a dreamed up personal "vision" that he wants for America, and he does not care who gets hurt - as long as he can bring his own personal vision to pass. Does this sound like a President who really cares about the American people? NO.
We need a practical leader, with proven practical solutions, to turn this nation around economically. I am SO ready for a new President - one that cares to help the American people with proven solutions.