The Jobs! It's always about the jobs...

 

 

LOTS of coverage on the Biden Administration's announcement to halt any further construction of the Keystone XL pipeline this week. It's been a contentious political issue for several years now. The Obama administration blocked its construction in November of 2015 and outside delays with regard to property rights slowed its progress, as well. 

The Trump administration supported the pipeline project in January of 2017 but progress was again stymied by the Nebraska Public Service Commission (who rejected TransCanada's proposed routing) in November of that same year. 

One year later, in November of 2018, District Court Judge Brian M. Morris blocked the permit granted by the Trump administration citing that a supplemental environmental review needed to be completed before construction could continue. 

In the days since the Biden inaugural on January 20th, I've seen many articles and social media memes passionately defending the project and taking Biden to task for the loss of thousands of jobs related to the construction of the pipeline. A secondary argument focuses on the premise that without this oil from Canada, the United States will become dependent on oil from the Middle East and the environmental concerns about those allegedly "unregulated oil tankers" dumping their waste into the ocean on the journey. 

The United States produces about 40% of its own domestic oil needs. We import the rest mostly from Latin America (20%), Canada (15%), Nigeria (5%), and "other" countries (3%). We do import the rest from several Middle Eastern countries. 

The funny thing is, the Keystone Pipeline isn't even fully built, so the project's suspension doesn't affect where we buy our oil from. 

There are other pipelines running between the US and Canada it seems that can increase their capacity without the Keystone project. And no, Canada won't be delivering that crude oil to us via "gas-guzzling tankers...dumping waste into the ocean."

Let's talk about jobs.

The project would absolutely create jobs. A couple thousand jobs for up to 24 months or so. Those are great paying direct jobs and certainly indirect labor and retail would also benefit significantly. 

For 24 months...

Unless the construction company was able to get it done in a year, in which case, well, it's a 12 month boon to the local economy and then not so much. 

What about after the completion of the project, how many jobs would remain? 

35

Thirty-five full time, probably very good jobs, and a couple dozen contractor part-time gigs as well. 

We shouldn't stop there, though. What about the jobs that are LOST due to the construction of the pipeline?

The oil is already getting shipped via truckers and railroad workers. As well as the truck stop workers/mechanics, gas station/convenience store employees, hotel/motel workers, restaurant staff, trucking logistic experts, etc. 

What about those jobs? Those are often good-paying, union jobs with benefits. 

Environmentally, the pipeline crosses one of the biggest aquifers in the country. If the pipeline breaks, drinking water may become scarce and shoot up in price. 

There are also concerns from local indigenous tribes about the routing of the pipeline. To be fair, there are some tribal communities that receive revenue from pipelines for their communities, so that has to be factored in as well. 

In the end, Canadian oil companies save money by creating a more efficient system to transport their crude oil to and through the United States. 

Imo, it's about profits. Mostly because I don't buy that the Canadian oil company is in any way, shape or form concerned THAT MUCH about employment in the various small towns along the way. And, I suppose, nor should they be. TransCanada's profit model doesn't include acts of goodwill as the main thrust of their construction projects. 

Will it destroy TransCanada? 

I don't know, that's above my paygrade. But, the stock seems mostly stable and they'll find a way to carry on. Maybe it's a waiting game for the next Republican President who may give it the green light and the project can be revived. 

Cause, Lord knows it can't wait to create those thirty-five full-time jobs...