WASHINGTON, July 28 (UPI) -- Its "puzzling" to see the U.S. government press for more OPEC oil while a proposed oil pipeline from Canada faces regulatory delays, an industry group said.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a measure that gives the White House until November to finish a review of TransCanada's proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline. The House in a markup of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act included an amendment regarding Keystone XL requiring U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to act "promptly" on the permit process.
Marty Durbin, executive vice president of the American Petroleum Institution, said in a statement that he applauded the House measures on the proposed heavy-oil pipeline.
"Adding Canada's oil sands resources to U.S. reserves, North America is now the strongest growing non-OPEC region for oil production," said Durbin. "It's puzzling, therefore to see our government urging OPEC to produce more crude and tapping our emergency supply from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve while delaying this critical pipeline."
The International Energy Agency in a June response to a decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to keep production levels unchanged called on member states to release strategic petroleum reserves to offset production declines from war-torn Libya.
TransCanada notes Keystone XL would strengthen U.S. energy security by "increasing the supply of safe, secure and reliable oil from Canadian and American oil fields."
Critics worry about the potential environmental impact of heavy oil from Canada. There have been several spills already on the existing Keystone pipeline.
