CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – On Wednesday the Obama administration announced that it would support the State Department’s advice to deny construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline much to the chagrin of the oil industry and many in the GOP.

Immediately following the White House’s announcement many in the Republican Party issued strong statements criticizing the president. For Senator Bob Corker, a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee, the denial for the pipeline means loss of access to North American oil as well as jobs.

“Rejecting the Keystone pipeline will cost thousands of American jobs and prevent our country from accessing a large supply of North American energy. Outside of election year politics, there is no good reason to block this project, especially when we really need the energy and the jobs the pipeline would generate,” said Senator Corker in a press release.

However, the number of jobs the pipeline is expected to create and whether the oil will be exported or remain in the U.S. is not clear.

TransCanada, the company behind the XL pipeline, claims the project will create 20,000 jobs. In contrast to that number the State Department’s reported to Congress only an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 temporary jobs while a Cornell University study estimated the true number to be 2,500 to 4,650. Neither report comes close to the 20,000 the development company claims.

Despite the data from Cornell or the State Department Senator Corker in his letter to Chairman Kerry on November 17, 2011, wrote: “With the unemployment rate at 9 percent, I have serious concerns about the impact this deferral may have on job creation. Reports indicate that the pipeline’s construction will create up to 20,000 direct jobs immediately and could create tens of thousands of indirect jobs. Further, it would inhibit U.S. access to 800,000 barrels of Canadian oil daily from a stable and dependable economic partner, reinforcing our dependence on the Middle East and other volatile oil producing countries.”

TransCanada CEO even reports the actual number of jobs created would be closer to 6,500. With multiple sources, including the company’s own Chief Executive Officer releasing sometimes wildly different job projections, the true number cannot be known. The same Cornell University Global Labor Institute report that indicates the largest number of jobs created will be temporary, goes on to estimate the number of permanent jobs created to be as low as 50.

Local representative Congressman Marsha Blackburn also echoes Corker’s complaints.

“The Keystone Pipeline XL project would not only serve as a valuable energy resource for our nation, but would create thousands of truly shovel-ready jobs here at home,” said Congressman Blackburn in a press release.

But once again, the claim of energy security is largely contested. Even the mostly conservative news network FOX reports the CEO of TransCanada boasted the oil to be transported through the pipeline would be exported to markets where oil prices are higher. According to the British national daily newspaper “TransCanada itself admits that by removing an oil oversupply in the Midwest, the pipeline would result in "an increase in the price of heavy crude" that should net Canadian oil producers a $1.9bn increase in revenue at the expense of American consumers. Gulf Coast refiners, which would receive tar sands oil from Keystone XL, have detailed a strategy to their investors to export the oil out of the United States.”

Once again clouding the truth behind whether the Keystone XL Pipeline would have any positive affect on America’s energy security.

For the Obama administration’s part, the White House denies political motivation inb the decision to reject the current pipeline request. According to Obama the primary reasoning for the rejection was the arbitrary deadline. The president explained the State Department did not have the time to properly review all information on the pipeline before the deadline. President Obama said the rejection has no reflection on the merits of the pipeline only the deadline imposed on the administration.

“This announcement is not a judgment on the merits of the pipeline, but the arbitrary nature of a deadline that prevented the State Department from gathering the information necessary to approve the project and protect the American people. I’m disappointed that Republicans in Congress forced this decision, but it does not change my Administration’s commitment to American-made energy that creates jobs and reduces our dependence on oil,” said President Obama.

TransCanada has been welcomed by the administration to reapply for approval and the company’s representatives have expressed an intention to do so.




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