Business
Obama to promote energy policy – to expedite Keystone XL pipeline permit
U.S. President Barack Obama facing rising gas prices. PHOTO/AP
U.S. President Barack Obama is reportedly set to announce in Oklahoma this week that he’s expediting the permit process for the southern half of TransCanada’s controversial Keystone XL pipeline.
Citing a senior administration source, CNN reported on Tuesday that Obama wants to slash several months off a permit approval process that can ordinarily stretch on for as long as a year.
The administration wants to speed things up to deal with a glut of oil in Cushing, Oklahoma, where crude from the Midwest runs into a logjam on its way to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico.
Obama will make the announcement Thursday at a storage yard in Cushing, the starting point of the pipeline’s southern half.
Pipes that will be used to build Keystone XL to the Gulf Coast are being housed at the facility.
The announcement comes as prices at the pump continue to soar. Republicans are blaming Obama’s energy policies for rising gas prices and continue to attack him for rejecting Keystone XL in January.
The U.S. average price for a gallon of gasoline rose for the 11th straight day on Tuesday to US$3.85, and soared to US $4 a gallon in some states.
