Keystone Looks More Critical Thanks to Venezuelan, Mexican Woes

After clearing a major regulatory hurdle in Nebraska, the case for building the Keystone XL pipeline can count on troubles many miles south as one of its strongest arguments. Withering supplies of heavy crude from Venezuela and Mexico are making U.S. Gulf Coast refineries more dependent on the thick, sticky bitumen that Keystone XL would carry from the Canadian oil sands. That’s the kind of oil those refineries were built to process, and adapting them to the light grades that are pumped from American shale fields requires costly revamping work. More…