pipeline

The pipeline would carry carbon dioxide for a controversial underground carbon-storage project. A new lawsuit argues it violates state law.

The debate over Keystone XL is nothing compared to the battle over the nation's first commercial oil pipeline. It transformed how energy was transported forever — but not without sabotage and threats.

The pipeline's fate looms large in Washington. But for people living in Keystone XL's proposed path, the project will alter livelihoods and legacies — for better or worse, depending on whom you ask.

It looks as though the "comment period" for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project will be extended, delaying a decision past the November elections.

The Keystone XL oil pipeline proposal cleared a significant hurdle Friday. The State Department concluded the project would not significantly worsen the problem of climate change. The decision has angered environmentalists, who don't want the project to go through.

The report concludes that the production of Canada's tar-sand crude, which causes more greenhouse gases than other forms, won't be affected if the pipeline moves forward.

A large section of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline was officially put to work Wednesday, in a move that supporters say will help ease the flow of oil to refineries. The Obama administration has yet to rule on the project's northern portion.

Railroads are increasingly becoming the preferred means of shipping the masses of oil being produced in North Dakota and surrounding states. The railroad industry is eager to fill in for the lack of pipeline capacity. But some say the train growth needs to slow down.

Five years ago, a Canadian company proposed building the Keystone XL pipeline to connect Canada's tar sands oil development with the big U.S. refineries on the Gulf Coast. The southern stretch of this pipeline is nearly finished, but the northern stretch is still under study.

The industry estimates that the U.S. will need to add 2,000 miles of pipeline per year, and that's just natural gas. Oil will need its own infrastructure. That means there will be a lot of pipeline going through a lot of private land — along with sometimes long, drawn-out legal fights with landowners.