Propane Shortage Is A Side Effect Of Obstructing Energy Infrastructure Like Keystone Pipeline

Last night during his State of the Union address, President Obama made no mention of the Keystone pipeline project which his administration continues to obstruct.

That’s creating serious problems across the upper midwest as oil production creates a crunch on existing infrastructure.

Consider these recent news articles:

Propane crisis becomes hot topic

State Rep. Pat Garofalo, R-Farmington, also said Dayton is doing what he can, but said that in the long run the federal government needs to encourage construction of more pipelines.

Railroads emphasize transporting western North Dakota crude oil to the east, Garofalo said, which makes it more difficult for propane suppliers to move their fuel. He said rail cars are “jammed with oil.”

Dakotas tribe opens shelters amid propane shortage

The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has opened shelters for people without adequate heat due to a propane shortage exacerbated by recent cold weather.

The reservation straddles the North Dakota-South Dakota border. The tribe has opened shelters in Fort Yates on the North Dakota side and in Wakpala on the South Dakota side.

Crowded tracks put westbound Amtrak on hold

Westbound Amtrak train service on the Empire Builder is being switched to buses until Sunday for passengers in Grand Forks, Devils Lake and Rugby, N.D. …

McBeth said BNSF absorbed 50 percent of all the volume increases in the rail industry last year while also setting a single-year record for capital investment to improve and expand capacity.

“We invested well over $200 million last year in North Dakota alone and plan to make similar aggressive investments this year, that will benefit all traffic in the state,” she said.

The Keystone XL pipeline alone could take 100,000 barrels of oil per day out of the North Dakota oil fields, a little more than 10% of current production. That’s a lot of trucks off the highways, and rail cars off the tracks. The Keystone pipeline, along with other infrastructure projects like the Sandpiper line (which is facing political opposition in Minnesota) could take pressure off of rails and roads which, in turn, would help alleviate the region’s propane shortage and passenger rail service delays.

But it’s not happening. Because President Obama would rather cater to a small but vocal minority of environmental activists.