Charleston, West Virginia – The Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia (GO-WV) – a nearly 600-member trade association of oil and natural gas producers and those businesses that serve them – expressed disappointment in the loss of the Keystone XL Pipeline at a time when the oil and natural gas industry has placed the United States in a position of energy independence.
“Our industry now faces unrealistic federal government policy revisions, which discourage the use of clean-burning and cost-efficient natural gas,” GO-WV Executive Director Charlie Burd said. “Natural gas not only helps our environment as an energy source – it also benefits consumers with lower utility bills while affording the United States the position of power as the world’s largest energy producer and exporter.”
This $8 billion, 1200-mile pipeline would have supplied more than 800,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Canada to an endpoint in Nebraska, where it would have connected to other existing pipelines. Those pipelines would then carry the oil to the Gulf Coast to be refined into transportation fuels and many other much needed products.
The announcement by member company TC Energy that it will terminate construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline project is discouraging, Burd said.
“The loss of such projects has a major negative impact to the long-term energy security of our nation, and it eliminates the need for thousands of good-paying construction and permanent jobs to deserving workers.
“It is disheartening to witness the loss of this project after the many years of planning, construction and investment by TC Energy and its predecessor, TransCanada,” he said. “This particular project was one that offered unprecedented opportunity to all Americans in terms of jobs, investment in people and small communities, taxes, future fuel supplies and national security. Such projects benefit all Americans.”