Griffin, Crawford Renew Calls For Keystone Pipeline Project
by May 25, 2012 9:55 am 106 views
Congressmen Tim Griffin (R-Little Rock) and Rick Crawford (R-Jonesboro) renewed their calls for the advancement of the Keystone XL pipeline project on Thursday.
Griffin and Crawford appeared jointly at Welspun Pipes, the Indian pipe manufacturer with major operations in Little Rock. The stalled pipeline project, which has been put on hold by the Obama administration while health and safety issues are researched, could mean big bucks lost for Welspun.
Malcolm Glover with our content partner, KUAR-FM 89 News, reports:
“There are over 500 miles of pipe here, stacked, and waiting to be taken by TransCanada, [a company focused on natural gas transmission and power services], and waiting to be formed into the pipeline itself,” said Griffin. “We have talked with the folks at Welspun about the impact of the delay in the Keystone pipeline and they made no bones about it. If this pipe is not put into the pipeline, then it will be dumped into the market and will reduce the pri
ce and it will negatively impact jobs here at Welspun which means layoffs.”
Representative Crawford says the president should make a decision soon. He says his constituents in Arkansas’s First Congressional District are tired of talk and want energy solutions.
“I think the timeline will largely be dictated by how long Canada is willing to wait,” said Crawford. “Unfortunately, they have a partnership available to them with the Chinese. I would much rather deal with our close friends the Canadians then I would to have them push that business elsewhere into the market and we miss out on a great opportunity so I think that’s going to be key to determining what the timeline is.”
You can access Glover's full report at this link.