The State Department is expected to issue its final assessment of the TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline expansion as soon as Friday--which, if the expansion is approved, will stretch from Canada to Port Arthur/Houston Texas--where it will cite the project will only have minimal adverse environmental effects. The State Department's decision will remove a major hurdle in the pipeline's expansion. A final decision on whether or not to issue permits for the project are expected by the end of the year after the department decides whether or not the pipeline is in "national interest."
The pipeline would be able to transport up to 500,000 barrels of crude oil a day from Canada, but the viscous oil in the Canadian oil sands emits high levels of greenhouse gases according to Canada's environmental ministry.
Proponents of the project insist that not only would construction of the pipeline result in efficient access to crude oil, but the construction project and steel pipe that will be utilized will result in hundreds of jobs in Canada and the US as well.