The new expansion of Keystone Pipeline System- the Keystone XL Pipeline Project has draw lot of attention since 2011. There were several protest demonstrations hold by thousands of environmentalists outside the White House to against the new project. Some protesters were arrested also. Like on October 4, 2012, Daryl Hannah, an actress and activist alone with a Texas land owner Eleanor Fairchild were arrested for criminal trespassing and other charges after they stood in front of TransCanada pipeline construction equipment in Ms. Fairchild's farm. Then there rise some questions, what is Keystone pipeline System, why people against the expansion so badly? .
What is Keystone Pipeline System and its operations.
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The Keystone pipeline System will be comprised of the Keystone pipeline and the proposed Keystone Gulf Coast Expansion Project( Keystone XL). The Keystone Pipeline is a 3,460-kilometre pipeline that transports synthetic crude oil and diluted bitumen from Hardisty, Alberta to markets in the American Midwest at Wood River and Patoka in Illinois, and at Cushing, Oklahoma.1 Till now, the pipeline system has the capacity to deliver up 590,000 bpd of Canadian crude oil into North American refining markets.2 The Keystone XL is a 2673 kilometer crude oil pipeline that begin at Hardisty, Alta. and extend through Saskatchewan, Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Also, it will continue south from Cushing to serve the Port Arthur, Texas market. It will increase the commercial design of Keystone pipeline to 1.1 million bps.3 The Keystone Pipeline cost about $5.2 billion, with its new expansion, the total cost will be around $7 billion. .
The project was developed as by two different company originally. The TransCanada and ConocoPhillips. However, on August 12, 2009, TransCanada bought out the whole Keystone Pipeline System through the acquisition of ConocoPhillips's remaining interest in the project for about $550 million plus a $200 million of short-term debt and became the solo owner of Keystone Pipeline .
