First, the one that’s done. The Dakota Access Pipeline. One year ago North Dakotans were tolerating thousands of protesters at Standing Rock trashing the area and costing millions in security and clean-up. Obama welcomed the mess since he was not in favor of pipelines as evidenced by his refusal to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. Of course, his good friend Warren Buffet, who was a big factor in his win for the second term, owns the railroads that transport the oil if there are no pipelines. Trump dispersed the protesters, who were mostly paid for their time and trash, and the last section was completed. These environmentalists left behind stray dogs in addition to the mountains of trash and human waste.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/feb/28/animal-rescue-finds-dogs-left-behind-dakota-access/
What are the results of the completed pipeline? Oil production grew by 78,000 bbls a day from an additional 15 new rigs since the oil can now flow to the Gulf Coast where there are refineries to use the oil at far cheaper rates than rail to the Midwest. This means new jobs. State revenue rose by $43.5 million since the pipeline began operation. This means as much as $250 million in new tax revenue for the state. Unemployment is down to 2.3% in ND. At the peak there were 12 trains with 1,200 cars clogging intersections in ND. Now it’s 2 trains, sorry Warren. You might want to short the BNSF stock. This means fewer derailments and risk to human life and the environment.
Second, the one that most of us believed was under construction, the Keystone XL. Not so, you see, because the great state of Nebraska decided it needed to take a different route than the one approved. The company that is building the pipeline must now reconsider the incremental cost and obtain new easement rights from dozens if not hundreds of property owners along the new route. Bureaucrats in Nebraska and protesters from California once again halt progress.
You are delusional if you think we can repair our crumbling infrastructure in this country. Every project will be met with the same issues that have plagued these projects. Someone will object and bureaucrats will stifle permits and nothing will happen. It may be the only time Obama was right in 8 years when he said, “there are no shovel ready projects in America”.
Coming soon:
A path that mirrored that followed by Trump in his campaign success. Life lessons for my grandkids and thoughts about life after a plane crash.
Bill –
I humbly submit…
The BNSF is now private (no stock) but The Oracle (haha) still has (via BH) significant stakes in all the other railroads, just an FYI. Those stocks are all up because they benefit from all the other “postive industry trends” such as indeed using trains to take up the slack for capacity demand as as trucking is now fully goverened via electronic logs (12/17/17) (Turcking driving is the number one category of the employed in 27+ states) We need the rails to make money to ebcourage additional capex in capacity as we all know the interstate system is maxed and not going to get relief (unless Amazon starts building roads, LOL).
Buffet is saying way more ridiculous things about the Trump tax cut, he’s lost his mind apparently (reference Mark Levin podcast last week)
I agree and see it first-hand, the entitlement NIMBY’s are going (and already have greatly) to halt a lot of effective progress to fix/expand our infrastructure (in any sensible manner), that part of our culture appears here to stay for a while.
Last note to ponder….Railroads are classified as “utilities” and actually posses the power of “Eminent Domain” maybe there should be a more friendly partnership between pipelines and railroads, also since railroads actually transoort the pipeline components out to them in a significant degree.
Humbly
The real BP
My friend and Harvard classmate decided there should be a partnership between pipelines and cellular telephones. He laid cellular lines along his company’s pipeline right of ways and made his company billions. He was a classmate of your Dad’s, BP.
Pipelines have been around since John D was doing monopolies. The risk of transportation by pipe vs rail is very much in favor of pipe. This blog covered the many derailments of trains carrying crude including the Canadian disaster that killed so many. Americans have been deluded by liberal environmental that the reverse is true. Their real mission is to stop the Canadian oil sand production that supports the need for either pipe or rail.
We have become a nation of no progress where someone will object to anything and try to stop it.
Bill