WorldWide Drilling Resource

33 SEPTEMBER 2015 What’s up with the Keystone Pipeline? by Bonnie Love, Editor WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Earlier this year, the President vetoed the Keystone Pipeline project, despite numerous polls indicating the American public overwhelmingly supports the project. The project has even passed the President’s climate test, and TransCanada is prepared to implement numerous safety procedures; yet the project is STILL in limbo, a political toy. Naysayers are quick to attack any positive statistics regarding the pipeline. The latest topic to face scrutiny is the creation of jobs. According to the U.S. Department of State, the project would create or support over 42,000 jobs. What are these jobs? Steelworkers, welders, truck drivers, electricians, pipefitters, laborers, and heavy equipment operators will be used during construction. They aren’t the only ones which stand to benefit from the pipeline. How about the manufacturers and miners who supply the products to make the steel, fittings, valves, pumps, as well as control and safety devices? Let’s not forget the heavy equipment manufacturers and mechanics, as well as the refinery workers who would gain from the project. Ultimately, each one of those workers will be able to buy more goods, pay for their children’s education, and purchase homes, bringing the money they earn to countless other businesses and creating a stable future. Critics are quick to mock those employment figures stating the majority of jobs the project would create are temporary and it will actually only lead to the creation of 35 permanent jobs. What they fail to realize, or better yet acknowledge, is ALL construction jobs are temporary, but the projects they construct serve a greater, long-term purpose. Let’s look at the American Interstate System, most of those jobs were temporary construction jobs, yet the people of this country benefit from the system on a daily basis. How about the railway system, again most of the jobs were in the construction phase of the project, but the railway system fueled the development of our country and continues to serve the American people 145 years later. Did Abraham Lincoln veto the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862 because most of the jobs would be temporary, or did he see the benefit it would provide the American people in the future? What about the next generation? Recently, the North Dakota oil boom has energized students at Augustana College to enroll in the archeology program, to help survey oil fields before drilling begins. Geology, chemistry, and engineering students are also needed for oil field operations, giving college graduates the opportunity to earn good wages and experience steady employment. What does oil drilling in North Dakota have to do with the Keystone Pipeline? Actually, a lot. The Keystone pipeline will not only bring additional Canadian crude to the U.S. for processing, it will also transport shale oil from North Dakota and Montana in a safe and environmentally sound way. Finally, let’s look at the financial benefits. Construction contracts, mate- rials, and support purchased in the U.S. would total approximately $3.1 billion, with an additional $233 million spent building construction camps for workers in remote areas. Estimated property taxes for the first full year of operations are around $55.6 million spread across 27 counties in 3 states. Laborers will earn more than $2 billion in wages in ad- dition to earning health and pension benefits. The project will also contribute about $3.4 billion to our country’s GDP (gross domestic product). The fact is, the Keystone Pipeline has the support of the American public and will benefit our country for years to come. So why don’t we stop politicizing it and just build it already? WorldWide Drilling Resource ®