TransCanada challenges emissions claims

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DALLAS, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Oil sent from Canada through pipelines won't have a dramatic effect on the environment when considering foreign shipments, an executive said from Texas.

Canadian pipeline company TransCanada aims to build the Keystone XL pipeline to add capacity to a network carrying crude oil from Alberta. Parts of the project would run through Texas on its way to refineries along the southern U.S. coast.

TransCanada Vice President Corey Goulet told a Texas energy conference that oil sent by pipeline from Canada would replace some oil imported from Latin American and Middle Eastern markets.

"The amount of crude we use in North America and the U.S. in particular is dependent on the consumer," he was quoted by The Dallas Morning News as saying. "This crude will displace other crudes that will be imported. So the net climate change won't be any different."

Critics of the pipeline proposal say so-called tar sands oil, like the oil designated for Keystone XL, poses more of an environmental risk than conventional crude oil. Texas activist group Public Citizen says greenhouse gas emissions from Canadian crude are three times higher than regular oil while TransCanada said there's a marginal difference.