WASHINGTON--President Barack Obama downplayed the possible
economic benefits of the Keystone XL Pipeline, saying it would have
very little impact on U.S. consumers.
"Keystone is not American oil. It's Canadian oil that is wrung
out of tar sands in Canada," Mr. Obama said, speaking to reporters
at the White House on Friday.
"It would save the Canadian oil companies and the Canadian oil
industry an enormous amount of money if they could simply pipe it
all the way through the United States down to the Gulf," Mr. Obama
said.
The State Department has been under pressure to act on the
proposed pipeline, which would transport Canadian crude oil to the
Gulf Coast. TransCanada Corp. (TRP) of Calgary, Alberta submitted
an application in 2008 to receive a needed permit from the State
Department, which reviews cross-border pipelines
Mr. Obama said that once in the Gulf Coast, the oil wouldn't
help make American oil prices cheaper, but would instead be sold
and shipped abroad.
"It's not going to be a huge benefit to U.S. consumers. It's not
even going to be a nominal benefit for U.S. consumers," Mr. Obama
said.
Amy Harder contributed to this story.
Write to Byron Tau at byron.tau@wsj.com
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