Amendments for Keystone XL Senate bill pile up

US senators have proposed a slew of amendments to a bill to authorize construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, from lifting US crude export controls to repealing the Jones Act.

But project proponents are urging senators not to pursue their proposals, for fear major changes to the legislation will complicate the bill's passage.

The Republican-led Senate today resumed debate on a bill to allow Canadian midstream company TransCanada to begin construction of the $5.4bn, 830,000 b/d Keystone XL pipeline without further regulatory scrutiny. The pipeline would carry crude from Alberta's oil sands and the Bakken formation to the US midcontinent, where it would link up with existing infrastructure feeding refineries along the US Gulf coast.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives approved a companion measure by a vote of 266-153 on 9 January. That was the 10th time the House has voted to approve a Keystone XL bill. But President Barack Obama has threatened to veto any Keystone XL bill that reaches his desk.

Proponents of the legislation are confident they have more than the 60 votes needed to ensure passage of a clean Keystone XL bill that would mirror the House version. But senators have offered at least 42 amendments so far, and that number is expected to grow in coming days.

The Senate is scheduled to begin considering amendments next week, with a goal of voting on final passage of the bill by the end of the month.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has proposed an amendment that would repeal the president's authority to restrict oil exports.

Industry trade group the American Petroleum Institute (API) has lobbied hard in favor of removing the decades-old export limits. But API has been urging senators not to try to attach crude export language to the Keystone XL bill.

ConocoPhillips chief executive Ryan Lance, who has been talking with lawmakers about lifting the export restrictions, said the issue "needs a little bit more socialization, a bit more education." But Lance, speaking on the sidelines of a forum hosted by the Washington think-tank Center for Strategic and International Studies on 14 January, said he has been encouraged by how many understand the issue and appreciate how much has changed in the energy sector since the restrictions were imposed in the 1970s.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who has been pushing for a relaxation of the export restrictions, said on 13 November the export issue "might complicate our debate on Keystone and the passage of Keystone."

Murkowski said she does not want to dissuade senators from filing amendments. But she noted that while "it is real easy to file an amendment, it is another thing to figure out how we work it into the process and whether or not it is ripe for a vote."

If senators add amendments to the Keystone bill, they will have to iron differences with their House colleagues. And any amendments unacceptable to House Republicans could be pulled in a House-Senate bargaining session.

Senator Edward Markey (D-Massachusetts) is championing an amendment that would bar any crude transported by the Keystone XL pipeline or any refined products derived from that oil to be exported.

Senator John McCain has sponsored an amendment to repeal the Jones Act, which requires that all goods shipped between US ports be carried on vessels built in the US and owned by US persons. Critics complain the Jones Act drives up shipping costs.

McCain pointed to a July 2014 Congressional Research Service report that found while it costs $5-6/bl to move crude from the US Gulf coast to the northeast on Jones Act tankers, shipments to eastern Canada on foreign-flagged vessels cost about $2/bl.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) wants his colleagues to vote on a non-binding measure declaring that "climate change is caused by human activity."

Murkowski hopes to craft a broader energy bill later this spring. Congress has not passed a comprehensive energy bill since 2007. "There is a pent-up demand in this area," she said.

di/dcb

Send comments to feedback@argusmedia.com

Request more information about Argus' energy and commodity news, data and analysis services.

Copyright © 2015 Argus Media Ltd - www.argusmedia.com - All rights reserved.