FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
August 12, 2013
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Alabama Attorney General
Claire Haynes (334) 242-7351
Page 1 of 1
AG STRANGE JOINS 20 OTHER AGS IN PETITION
FOR EXPANSION OF KEYSTONE OIL PIPELINE
(MONTGOMERY) – Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange has joined with
the Attorneys General of 20 other states in a petition asking U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry to recommend a permit for the expansion of the Keystone Pipeline project to
transport oil from Canada to refineries in the Gulf of Mexico region of the United States.
The State Department is currently reviewing an application for a Presidential Permit for
Keystone XL, an expansion of the existing Keystone Pipeline.
In a letter to Secretary Kerry, the Attorneys General state that “the project, when
approved, will bolster the nation’s economy, modernize the country’s energy
infrastructure, and strengthen our national security.” The Attorneys General assert that
“the pipeline will significantly serve our national energy needs by providing primary
transportation for the development of Canadian oil reserves. It will also facilitate the
safe transport of oil from the burgeoning Bakken oil field in North Dakota and
Montana. Each attribute will add to the country’s energy independence and to the
economy of the entire midsection of this nation.”
In their petition, the Attorneys General provide facts in support of expanding the
pipeline, noting that 36 percent of the oil imported by the U.S. comes from politically
unstable countries that may or do have anti-democratic or anti-American agendas; that
the U.S. has a long friendship with Canada which possesses vast oil reserves; that the
U.S. and Canada share an integrated energy infrastructure which would be made more
efficient by Keystone XL; and that the expansion would create jobs and boost the sales
of American goods and services.
“Whereas, approval of Keystone would thus reduce dependence on oil imports
from suppliers who are inherently unstable, shield our country from threats to its
security, and assure and sustain America’s economic recovery; We the undersigned
American Attorneys General, petition John F. Kerry, United States Secretary of State, to
move expeditiously to recommend approval of the Keystone XL pipeline project, which
has been seeking a presidential permit since 2008,” concludes the petition that was sent
on August 9 by the Attorneys General of Alabama, North Dakota, Arizona, Florida,
Idaho, Missouri, Alaska, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, South
Carolina, Utah, West Virginia, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota and
Virginia.
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501 Washington Avenue Montgomery, AL 36104 (334) 242-7300
www.ago.state.al.us
