Keystone XL Pipeline Statement by Valero
Pertinent information
for every citizen of the USA.
Date: January 24, 2012
To: Valero Employees
From: Bill Klesse, CEO
Valero
Subject: Keystone XL Pipeline Statement
As you know, the Obama administration decided
last week to deny
TransCanada’s application to ship crude oil via the Keystone XL
pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast. Valero
has planned to be a
shipper and purchaser of that oil since 2008, and
obviously we were
disappointed in the decision. We issued a statement in response to
questions from the media, and I wanted to share
it with you in case you
get questions from friends or business partners,
and so that you would
know why Valero supports the Keystone XL
pipeline. This is the
statement:
Despite the uncertainty
and political fighting over the Keystone XL
pipeline, Valero has continued to invest in its
U.S. refining
operation. In 2011 we spent nearly $3 billion on projects, and for
2012 our capital expenditure budget is over $3
billion. These
expenditures are keeping our employees on the job and putting
additional people to work. To reference two of
our refineries, at Port
Arthur, Texas, we have 1,600 contractors working
on an expansion
project, and at St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, we have another 1,000
contractors working on a separate project. We
need this kind of
economic activity to accelerate to help all Americans.
This illustrates why the
federal government’s rejection of the Keystone
XL pipeline is so absurd. There are pipelines in
every neighborhood all
across America. The administration’s decision was
not about pipelines,
it was about the misguided beliefs that Canadian
oil sands development
should be stopped and that fossil fuel prices
should increase to make
alternative energy more attractive. Instead, we
should be impressed
with how well the oil sands engineering and
recovery technology has
advanced, and the economic benefits this
development brings. Having
more oil available in the marketplace has the
potential to lower prices
for consumers. As an independent refiner, Valero
buys all of the oil
we process. Due to the administration’s misguided
policies, refiners
like Valero will have to buy more oil from other
sources outside the
U.S. and Canada. Consumers will bear the
additional shipping cost, not
to mention the additional greenhouse gas
emissions and political risks.
With all the issues
facing our country, it is absolutely unbelievable
our federal government says no to a company like
TransCanada that is
willing to spend over $7 billion and put
Americans to work on a
pipeline. The administration’s decision throws
dirt into the face of
our closest ally and largest trading partner.
The point above is that
it is not about pipelines as many pipelines
cross the Ogallala Aquifer, in the Great Plains
region, and, in fact,
there is already significant oil and gas
production in the area covered
by the aquifer. This is politics at its worst.
Thanks for your support.