{"id":10828,"date":"2012-05-17T06:07:25","date_gmt":"2012-05-17T11:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=10828"},"modified":"2013-11-15T15:48:27","modified_gmt":"2013-11-15T21:48:27","slug":"how-the-keystone-xl-pipeline-could-raise-gas-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/05\/17\/how-the-keystone-xl-pipeline-could-raise-gas-prices\/","title":{"rendered":"How The Keystone XL Pipeline Could Raise Gas Prices"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Tom Pennington\/Getty Images<\/p>

Pipe is stacked at the southern site of the Keystone XL pipeline on March 22, 2012 in Cushing, Oklahoma.<\/p><\/div>\n

The debate over TransCanada\u2019s proposed oil pipeline from the oil sands of Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast has mostly focused on the environmental and economic impacts. People in favor say it will bring jobs and energy security. Opponents say the pipeline, and the crude it will carry, will harm the earth.<\/p>\n

But the project might have another consequence that\u2019s been largely overlooked. Some analysts say it could actually raise gas prices for many American consumers.<\/p>\n

Here’s how.<\/p>\n

Access to crude oil is not evenly distributed. There are large sections of the country that are awash in the stuff and others that have little.\u00a0 These days the upper region of the American Midwest has more crude from Canada, North Dakota and Montana than refineries can handle.\u00a0 And a huge glut of oil called West Texas Intermediate is sitting in Oklahoma, undervalued because it can\u2019t get to refineries.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf only there was another pipeline that would bring [the crude] to the Gulf Coast, where from Corpus Christi, Texas to the Mississippi River, there is the largest concentration of refineries in the world, \u201d Jim Prescott, a PR rep for TransCanada, mused during a recent phone interview.<\/p>\n

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In effect, that’s exactly what the Keystone XL Pipeline would accomplish.<\/p>\n

Like the pipeline’s other supporters, Prescott says bringing that crude to refineries will increase supply and translate into lower gas prices for consumers. \u00a0It\u2019s basic supply and demand, he says. But in the world of international oil markets, things aren\u2019t always simple. And some experts warn that moving Canadian crude to Texas will actually drive prices up where consumers benefit from over-supply.<\/p>\n

These Deals Won’t Last Forever<\/h4>\n

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