Hoeven, Manchin Host Canada's Ambassador to the United States to Highlight Good Environmental Stewardship in Oil Sands

Press Release

U.S. Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) today hosted Gary Doer, Canada's Ambassador to the United States, to highlight Canada's good environmental stewardship of the oil sands and the need to approve the Keystone XL pipeline project. Hoeven and Manchin have introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate to approve the Keystone XL, which has been delayed for more than six years by the Obama administration and is now under consideration for approval by Congress.

Canada is America's largest supplier of oil, gas and electricity, providing 40 percent of all U.S. oil imports. That's more than all 12 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) combined. Today, 70 pipelines cross the Canada-U.S. border, including 31 oil pipelines and 39 natural gas pipelines.

"Canada is committed to developing the oil sands with good environmental stewardship, and already has a strong record of achievement," Hoeven said. "Companies like Exxon and Shell are working with their Canadian counterparts to develop new technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as they increase production to help both Canada and the U.S. to become more economically strong and energy secure in an increasingly volatile world."

"Canada and the U.S. are strong partners on energy and the environment," said Doer. "We work together on clean air policies such as vehicle fuel efficiency standards and acid rain reduction. Canada and the U.S. develop renewable and traditional energy to make our North American neighborhood less dependent on countries that represent potential risk for the future."

"It is time that we address the critical issues of moving America toward energy independence, while continuing to foster job growth and economic prosperity," Senator Manchin said. "Approving the Keystone XL pipeline will help us reach these goals as we partner with one of our strongest allies, Canada. I thank Ambassador Doer and Senator Hoeven for their steadfast support of this important project, and I will continue to fight with them until we can finally begin building this pipeline."

The senators said Canada has a commitment to developing the oil sands with good environmental stewardship. Since 1990, oil sands greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per barrel have been reduced by 28 percent using a combination of innovative technologies and targeted incentives to encourage reduced carbon emissions.

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