Canada looks to Venezuela's territory in the US Gulf Coast
As the debate over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline has raged, one voice has been notable for its absence: Venezuela's
If approved, TransCanada's Keystone XL would carry 830,000 barrels a day (b/d) of heavy oil from Canada's oil sands deposits to the US Gulf Coast starting in 2016. Since the start of 2011, Venezuelan exports of similar heavy oil to the same Gulf Coast refineries that would be hooked up to the Keystone XL system have averaged 875,000 b/d. In other words, Keystone XL could, in theory, provide enough Canadian heavy oil to displace nearly all of Venezuela's present exports to the US at recent levels. This has been part of the Canadian sales pitch. "Poll after poll suggests Americans support this pipeline," TransCanada president Russ Girling told Petroleum Economist at the company's annual genera
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