The National Academy of Science released a report on Tuesday explaining Canadian oil is no different than any other type of oil shipped safely via a pipeline. The Omaha World-Herald has the story:
LINCOLN — The heavy Canadian oil that would flow in the proposed Keystone XL pipeline doesn’t cause more leaks than lighter crudes, the National Academy of Sciences has determined.
A committee of 12 experts assembled by the National Academy released a report Tuesday that found diluted bitumen, the category of oil shipped from Alberta’s tar-sands region, has no greater likelihood of causing pipeline failure than other oils. The committee reviewed pipeline incident statistics, reports, investigations and data on the chemical and physical properties of diluted bitumen.
The heavy tar-sands oil has been imported from western Canada for more than 30 years and transported in numerous pipelines in the United States, the report stated.
“There’s nothing extraordinary about pipeline shipments of diluted bitumen to make them more likely than other crude oils to cause releases,” said Mark Barteau, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Michigan who chaired the report committee.
Consumer Energy Alliance’s Michael Whatley explained the report will alleviate some people fears over the safety of transporting Canadian oil.
Michael Whatley is executive vice president of the Consumer Energy Alliance, a strong proponent of the Keystone XL project. He said the report should put to rest any questions that diluted bitumen is inherently more dangerous to ship by pipeline than other oils.
“We are glad to have the backing of the National Academy of Science to knock down that argument,” he said Tuesday.
