not a political fight

I

iowa labs

New member
just a question about the oil sands pipeline not a call to arms. why not build a refinery in montana or north dakota instead of a pipeline that is in danger of hurricanes on the gulf coast? :cheers:
 
Refineries are a self contained ecological disaster for one thing. Hasn't been a refinery built in the US since the 70's. EPA clearances along with a slew of other regulatory hurdles will delay construction 20 years. That's the US response. Better question is why not build one in Canada, there's lots of refining in Edmonton, if it's so great build it there, then the Canadians can sell it to whoever they want, directly, rather than export all over the world from the Texas coast.
 
Hardly a given ecological disaster but it is the old "not in my backyard" deal.
Refineries carry plusses and minuses as does a lot of industry.
Anything though with a perceived Big in the name carries a bigger bullseye on it's back.
Just the way it is.
 
US plans to Export it

Keystone XL would be Canada’s first step in diversifying its energy market. The pipeline would divert large volumes of Canadian oil from the Midwest to the Gulf Coast, where it would be available for the first time to buyers on the world market. To sweeten the deal, many of the refineries on the Gulf Coast happen to be located in foreign trade zones, where they can export Canadian oil to the world market without paying U.S. taxes. Oil Change International investigated this issue in a report that found the Keystone XL pipeline was part of a larger strategy to sell increasing volumes of Canadian crude on the international diesel market.
 
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The EPA is pretty strict about limiting warm discharges to 50,000 gpm. You're not going to refine much with that limitation. Powerplants can pay of air cooled equipment and closed system lakes but there isn't enough money in Refineries.
 
We have excess refining capacity in the US due to decreased demand secondary to better fleet fuel economy and the recession. Some refineries are closing because of the lower demand. In fact, we are exporting gasoline and diesel fuel. So a new refinery probably does not make economic sense at this time.
 
iowa labs said:
just a question about the oil sands pipeline not a call to arms. why not build a refinery in montana or north dakota instead of a pipeline that is in danger of hurricanes on the gulf coast? :cheers:
Click to expand...

The refinery in Mandan ND has plans to expand. Billings MT has oil refineries. And oil is piped to MN, CO and Utah to refineries from crude out of ND, MT and Canada.

I think the building of new refineries or expansion of existing ones is more a decision by oil companies then by government. Oil companies do not want to overproduce and at this time, US and Canada have plenty of refining capacity.
Other then jobs and export value of products their is no need to pipe oil to the Gulf.
Reason enough?
 
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