Energy Quote of the Day: Keystone Won’t Make or Break Oil Sands

Even if environmental opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline manages to prevent its construction,  it will fail to achieve environmental groups’ objective of preventing development of the oil sands production at the origination point, according to Charles Dewhurst, US Natural Resources practice leader for accounting and consulting firm BDO.

“Environmental groups are very concerned that just the production of the oil sands is going to add so much in the way of greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere, and clearly pipelines are critical to the overall success of the oil sands,”  Dewhurst told Breaking Energy.

“The mindset is, if we can stop the Keystone Pipeline, then we can close down the oil sands, which is a very flawed argument.”

He pointed out that Canada has expressed willingness to market oil sands crude in a number of ways, including via pipeline to its West Coast for export to China and other Asia-Pacific markets.