Rising from the ashes . . . the Keystone XL pipeline?

Remember how the Obama Administration slow-walked its so-called review of the Keystone XL pipeline? How it languished in the State Department for seven years while first Hillary and then John Kerry pretended to weigh the pros and cons of the project, only to have Obama formally reject it - which everyone knew all along he would do? The whole thing, of course, was a complete joke. The Obama Administration had no serious rationale for denying the project, but Obama's supporters in the environmental extremist set would have gone apoplectic if he'd approved it. So he dragged his feet for seven years and finally come up with a flimsy rationale for turning it down.

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Well, many good things that seemed dead are suddenly springing to life again, and the Washington Times thinks Keystone XL could be one of the first things to make a glorious comeback:

Analysts said the key to President Obama’s rejection of the pipeline last year was a George W. Bush-era executive order giving the State Department a say in energy projects that cross international boundaries. Voiding that executive order would return the decision to energy regulators, who have been far more amenable to Keystone. “I predict this pipeline will get finished and be in full operation in the next 18 to 24 months,” said Brigham McCown, who served as first acting administrator of the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration in 2005 and 2006. “Once President Trump says, ‘Make this happen,’ I think you’ll see the government swing back and make that happen.” Under a Trump administration, it’s likely that little would have to be done in terms of studying Keystone, which would deliver more than 800,000 barrels of oil from Alberta to refineries on the Gulf Coast. The State Department and other federal agencies have conducted an exhaustive analysis of the project. Among other things, the State Department review concluded that the pipeline would have virtually no impact on climate change because the Canadian fuel likely would find its way to market via other means if Keystone is rejected. Mr. McCown said some additional federal review may be needed, and states through which the pipeline will pass may have to reaffirm specific routes, but by and large, Mr. Trump can make Keystone a reality with relatively little effort.

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Why is this so important? You might argue that we're talking about a) Canadian oil and not U.S. oil, which is true; and b) there's no guarantee it will be sold to U.S. consumers, which is also true. But if that's all you look at, you completely miss the larger dynamics of the energy markets. Having natural resources and being able to exploit them is one thing, but just as important is distribution infrastructure. Moving oil via a pipeline is cheaper and safer than moving it via truck or train, and the Keystone XL pipeline gives the U.S. economic leverage we would not have otherwise. When Obama dismisses the valuue of the project by talking only in terms of short-term jobs created or a momentary impact on gas prices, he either totally misses the big picture or ignores what he knows is true in order to justify a strictly political action. Best of all, if Trump takes the action contemplated above and the pipeline gets built, some future Democrat president can't come along later and reverse the action. The pipeline will be built, and pumping oil every day. Environmentalists will hate it, but who cares? This would be one of the best things Trump could do to start his presidency off well. And all it takes is the stroke of a pen.

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