Frank Pallone: “Again, I want to make this point about the impact of low oil prices on Keystone and on exploitation of tar sands. The…”

“Again, I want to make this point about the impact of low oil prices on Keystone and on exploitation of tar sands. The price of oil has dropped precipitously in the past few months and is expected to stay in the $65 to $75 per barrel range for the foreseeable future. Just last month, the price of oil actually dipped below $50 per barrel, and gas prices have fallen below $2 per gallon in some areas. Obviously, this is good news for the American consumer but bad news for tar sands producers who are struggling to remain profitable in the face of rising production costs and limited transportation options. In a scenario where tar sands are less profitable due to low oil prices and transportation constraints, the State Department concluded that the construction of Keystone will play a pivotal role in future tar sands development and increased carbon pollution that comes from it. So just last week, EPA made clear that low oil prices mean that the pipeline's impact on future tar sands production could be substantial, with significant implications for climate change. Now, when I was at Rules, some of my colleagues on the Republican side said: Well, if you don't build the pipeline, this tar sands oil is going to be transported by rail or by some other means, and so what is the difference if we build Keystone? Well, the bottom line is that it is very likely that, with low oil prices, there wouldn't be the investment in tar sands.…”