Finish XL Pipeline, Paxton, other AGs tell Biden

Apr. 29—Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants construction on the $8-billion Keystone XL Pipeline resumed and 15 attorneys general from around the nation agree with him.

Having written an April 18 letter to President Joe Biden, they've taken the president to task for signing an executive order on his first day in office to shutter the project.

Permian Basin Petroleum Association President Ben Shepperd, Congressman August Pfluger, Panhandle Producers & Royalty Owners Association President Judy Stark of Amarillo and Texas Pipeline Association President Thure Cannon applaud Paxton and the others for trying to boost North American energy production in light of the global shortages fomented by the war in Ukraine.

"It was a real tragedy that Biden canceled the XL Pipeline because America and the world need all the oil and gas we can get right now," Shepperd said from Austin. "Anything we can do to produce, transport and sell our natural resources, we should do.

"I don't think the XL would necessarily have a direct impact on West Texas intermediate crude oil, but it would certainly help alleviate the supply problems that the country is having."

Shepperd said the energy industry was grievously disappointed when Biden reversed former President Trump's approval of the XL, of which only eight percent has been completed. It would have been opened in the first quarter of next year.

Separately, the Keystone Pipeline runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta Province to Cushing, Okla., and it has been in operation since 2010.

Asked if there's a chance Biden will relent, Shepperd said, "We've been getting mixed signals from this administration, but the need has really been highlighted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"It has put the energy needs of not just the U.S. but also our allies in the spotlight. Some in the administration see that more supply would lower prices for consumers, but others continue to say, 'Let's keep it all in the ground,' which is unrealistic. There is an enormous demand for oil and gas that will continue for decades."

Pfluger called Biden's energy policies "shortsighted," adding, "Cancelling the Keystone XL Pipeline and banning leasing and permitting on federal lands have resulted in sky-high costs for American families.

"We must pursue an aggressive pro-energy agenda to restore American energy dominance," the San Angelo Republican said. "The United States should not be reliant on our adversaries to supply our energy needs. Energy security is national security."

Paxton was joined in his letter by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming to tell Biden he'd made an egregious mistake.

"New record-high gas prices are seemingly set every day, economy-wide inflation, the highest in 40 years, is straining the budgets of American families and European countries are unable to impose oil and gas sanctions on Russia without risking an economic recession," they wrote in part. "Instead, European countries are spending $1 billion per day on Russian oil and gas and literally funding Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in the process.

"Now reports indicate that your administration is seeking to import more oil from Canada. However, there is little capacity in existing pipelines, leaving you with few, if any, viable options. The oil you now want to import from Canada is the same oil that would have flowed through the Keystone XL Pipeline, transporting nearly a million barrels per day to American refineries not only from Canada but also from the Bakken oilfields in Montana and North Dakota.

"The hypocrisy would be stunning if it weren't so insulting to American energy workers and those in rural communities who benefited from the pipeline's many economic opportunities," the attorneys general said. "Coddling your radical environmental base has led us to the current crisis. The time for waffling and double-speak has passed. The time for leadership has come and the path forward is clear."

Stark was pessimistic that the letter would have any effect. "I don't think the XL is going to take place during this administration," she said.

Referring to the Canadian corporation that was building it, Stark said, "The owners of TC Energy are probably not interested in starting it back up.

"The environmentalists would still fight against it and it would be quite a controversy. The Biden administration is constantly saying they have 9,000 permits to drill on federal lands, but having the lands open to drill doesn't mean you will be able to. They talk about these things, but in the end do they delay the permitting? Yes, they do.

"The biggest problems have been the jobs that were killed and our inability to bring in oil from our allies."

Cannon said world events "have highlighted the need for energy security and energy independence.

"Building the essential infrastructure needed to ensure that the U.S. has the energy it needs to fuel our homes and businesses is an integral part of the supply chain," Cannon said from Austin. "We encourage the administration to reinstate the XL Pipeline as well as to create an atmosphere that promotes regulatory certainty at all levels of government."