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| Reactions to Keystone pipeline impact report Friday, Jan 31, 2014 07:54 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Thursday issued its long awaited final environmental impact statement on the proposed Keystone pipeline, which would carry crude oil from Canada's tar sands region to refiners in the Gulf of Mexico. The following are quotes from lawmakers, environmental groups and others on the report and the road ahead for TransCanada Corp's, which was first proposed more than five years ago. ----------------------------- U.S. HOUSE SPEAKER JOHN BOEHNER: "President Obama is out of excuses. ... Full Story | Top |
| Canada energy minister expects positive Keystone XL decision soon Friday, Jan 31, 2014 07:54 PM PST Canada's Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said on Friday he expects the final decision on the Keystone XL pipeline to be positive, and would like to see it happen in the first half of this year. Speaking after the U.S. State Department released a final environmental impact statement on the controversial pipeline, Oliver said U.S. President Barack Obama now had all the facts to be able to decide. Oliver described the environmental review, which said the Keystone XL pipeline would be unlikely to increase the pace of Canadian oil sands development, as a "positive step on the route to approval". Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Possible winners and losers from Keystone XL review Friday, Jan 31, 2014 07:54 PM PST The U.S. State Department issued an environmental review of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline on Thursday that said the project was unlikely to increase the pace of Canadian oil sands development. The 1,179-mile (1,900-km) pipeline would move 830,000 barrels per day of oil sands crude from Hardisty, Alberta, across the U.S. border to Steele City, Nebraska, where it would connect with a previously approved line. Environmentalists and other critics have called on President Barack Obama to reject the plan, saying it could hasten climate change by promoting oil-harvesting methods in Alberta that produce high levels of carbon dioxide emissions. Below are details of which groups would benefit and which would be disappointed from the State Department's conclusions. Full Story | Top |
| TransCanada CEO 'very pleased' as Keystone XL edges forward Friday, Jan 31, 2014 07:54 PM PST (Reuters) - Transcanada Corp's chief executive said on Friday he was "very pleased" with the release of a U.S. State Department review on Keystone XL, which played down the impact the 1,179-mile pipeline would have on climate change. "We are very pleased with the release and being able to move this next stage of the process," said Russ Girling on a conference call. Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Prolonged Keystone XL decision to spill into U.S. election season Friday, Jan 31, 2014 07:53 PM PST The Obama administration's tricky final decision on the Keystone XL oil pipeline is several months away, guaranteeing that the project dividing many Democratic voters will be an issue in the midterm elections that could determine control of the U.S. Congress. The State Department's issuance on Friday of its last environmental review of TransCanada Corp's proposed pipeline puts in motion a few more steps that have to be completed before a final determination is made. It is not known whether the final decision on the pipeline, which would transport some 830,000 barrels per day from the Canadian oil sands and domestic oil fields to Nebraska, will come before or after the November 4 elections. While Republican voters mostly support Keystone, the project divides many pro-union Democrats who want construction jobs the pipeline would create, and those who believe the pipeline will increase emissions blamed for climate change Below are the next steps to come on the pipeline and the Congressional races it could influence: NEXT STEPS - National Interest Determination Now that the State Department has finalized the environmental review, eight federal agencies will have up to 90 days to comment on whether the Keystone XL is in the national interest. Full Story | Top |
| Factbox: Major findings of the U.S. Keystone XL environment study Friday, Jan 31, 2014 07:53 PM PST The Obama administration's environmental review of the Keystone XL pipeline issued on Friday said the project would not likely speed the development of Canada's oil sands, essentially discounting one the major concerns of the duct's opponents. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to make the final decision on TransCanada Corp's 830,000 barrels per day pipeline later this year after eight federal agencies weigh whether Keystone is in the country's national security interest. Below are major findings of the State Department's 11-volume final environmental review it issued on Friday. OIL SANDS DEVELOPMENT A single project like the Keystone XL pipeline will only speed up the pace of development of Alberta's oil sands under a very narrow condition, the report said. Full Story | Top |
| Keystone report raises pressure on Obama to approve pipeline Friday, Jan 31, 2014 07:53 PM PST  By Roberta Rampton and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pressure for President Barack Obama to approve the Keystone XL pipeline increased after a State Department report played down the impact it would have on climate change, irking environmentalists and delighting the project's proponents. But the White House signaled late on Friday that a decision on an application by TransCanada Corp to build the $5.4 billion project would be made "only after careful consideration" of the report, along with comments from the public and other government agencies. "The Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement includes a range of estimates of the project's climate impacts, and that information will now need to be closely evaluated by Secretary (of State John) Kerry and other relevant agency heads in the weeks ahead," White House spokesman Matt Lehrich said. Full Story | Top |
| EPA scrutiny could be lynchpin to Keystone review process Friday, Jan 31, 2014 07:53 PM PST By Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's critical assessment of the proposed northern leg of the Keystone pipeline could have outsized influence on the final decision of whether to approve the project, experts familiar with the process said. Friday's State Department report contained the EPA's evaluation that crude produced from Canada's oil sands, which the pipeline would carry, are 17 percent more greenhouse gas intensive than average oil used in the United States. The EPA also said oil sands imports would be 2-10 percent more greenhouse-gas intensive than imported oil from Mexico or Venezuela that would probably replace it. The Departments of Defense, Commerce, Commerce, Energy, Justice, Transportation and Homeland Security are also evaluating the State Department's environmental assessment of the Keystone proposal. Full Story | Top |
| California water allocation forecast hits record-low level Friday, Jan 31, 2014 07:39 PM PST  By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A worsening drought in California will likely force a first-ever complete cutoff this year in state-supplied water sold to 29 irrigation districts, public water agencies and municipalities up and down the state, officials said Friday. Although the state Water Resources Department typically ends up supplying more water than first projected for the year ahead, its forecast for a "zero allocation" in 2014 is unprecedented since the agency began delivering water in 1967. The announcement came a day after the agency said that water content in the snow pack of the Sierra Nevada mountain range - a key measure of surface water supplies - stood at just 12 percent of average for this time of year. Barring an unexpected turn-around in California's current dry spell, the state faces its worst-ever water supply outlook, the agency said. Full Story | Top |
| White House says Keystone decision to come only after careful review Friday, Jan 31, 2014 06:54 PM PST  The White House said late on Friday that a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline will come only after a careful review of a new environmental impact study from the State Department as well as other comments and information. "A decision on whether the project is in the national interest will be made only after careful consideration of the (State Department environment impact study) and other pertinent information, comments from the public, and views of other agency heads," said Matt Lehrich, a White House spokesman. Full Story | Top |
| California college to offer non-approved meningitis vaccine Friday, Jan 31, 2014 05:44 PM PST By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, California (Reuters) - Students at a California public university where meningococcal disease broke out in the fall will be offered a vaccine not approved for use in the United States, public health officials said on Friday. The outbreak, which resulted in a student having his feet amputated, is similar to the one that struck eight students at Princeton University in New Jersey, where students won approval to use the same foreign vaccine in the fall. Bexsero, made by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG, is the only vaccine to protect against serotype B of the meningococcal bacteria, which can attack the nervous system as meningitis or cause a deadly blood condition. California health officials sought access to the vaccine for the Santa Barbara students in December amid renewed concern about meningococcal disease, which is highly contagious among people who live in close quarters, such as college students. Full Story | Top |
| Exclusive: South Sudan rebel leader says government derailing peace talks Friday, Jan 31, 2014 05:16 PM PST  By Goran Tomasevic JONGLEI STATE, South Sudan (Reuters) - South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar accused the government on Friday of ethnic cleansing and trying to sabotage peace talks, in his first face-to-face interview since fighting erupted late last year in Africa's youngest nation. Dressed in dark green military fatigues and speaking to Reuters in his bush hideout, Machar branded President Salva Kiir a discredited leader who had lost the people's trust and should resign. "Salva Kiir has committed atrocities in Juba, he has engaged in ethnic cleansing and he is still involved in the process," Machar said. His comments highlighted the gulf between the sides, who are meant to resume their troubled peace talks in Ethiopia next week. Full Story | Top |
| Ill cruise passengers 'felt like prisoners' ahead of Texas docking Friday, Jan 31, 2014 04:28 PM PST By Andrea Lorenz HOUSTON (Reuters) - Several ill passengers who disembarked from a Princess Cruises ship in Houston on Friday said they felt like prisoners forced to their cabins for days when the vessel suffered the second outbreak of a stomach illness to hit a cruise ship in a week. It was terrible," passenger Steve Juneau told local ABC broadcaster KTRK. Julie Benson, a spokeswoman for the cruise line, said it is policy to ask passengers suffering from stomach and digestive problems to stay in their rooms to prevent problems from becoming worse. Those in cabins are provided with room service. Full Story | Top |
| Big chill gives Dow, S&P worst month since May 2012 Friday, Jan 31, 2014 02:57 PM PST  By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) - A selloff in emerging markets sent a cold chill down Wall Street, triggering a slide on Friday and making January its worst month since May 2012 after one of its best years in more than a decade. For January, the Dow tumbled 5.3 percent and the S&P 500 slid 3.6 percent - their worst monthly percentage declines since May 2012. Trading was volatile during the session, with the Nasdaq briefly edging into positive territory and the CBOE Volatility Index - also known as the fear index - briefly turning negative. The VIX shot up 6.5 percent to end Friday's session at 18.41. Full Story | Top |
| TransCanada lauds U.S. review of Keystone XL project Friday, Jan 31, 2014 02:55 PM PST  By Scott Haggett and Julie Gordon CALGARY/VANCOUVER (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp's chief executive welcomed a favorable U.S. environmental review of the company's Keystone XL project on Friday, calling the report an important milestone for the final approval of the controversial pipeline. The U.S. State Department issued its long-awaited Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the $5.3 billion pipeline project on Friday. The report, issued more than five years after TransCanada first applied for a presidential permit for the line, triggers a 90-day comment period. Although it does not dictate the timing of a final decision on the project from the Obama administration, Russ Girling, the company's chief executive, said the review was a key step for the pipeline. Full Story | Top |
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