Keystone XL pipeline will create 35 permanent jobs, State Department says
The Keystone XL pipeline will generate about 42,100 jobs in the construction phase, but leave only 35 permanent jobs to operate the pipeline, a new State Department report says.
A truck travels along highway 14, several miles north of Neligh, Neb. near the proposed new route for the Keystone XL pipeline.
Nati Harnik/AP/File
TransCanada have always maintained that the Keystone XL pipeline, for which they are battling to gain permission to build, will provide a huge boost to the US economy through the generation of over half a million permanent jobs.
A study which they commissioned in 2010 stated that the construction of the pipeline would create 118,935 non-permanent jobs, mostly in construction and manufacturing whilst the pipeline was being built; an additional 553,235 permanent jobs due to the increased US oil supply.
The State Department has just this week released a report which actually estimates a far lower number of jobs will be created by the Keystone XL pipeline. The one to two year construction phase of the pipeline will likely only create around 42,100 jobs, and this number would fall to just 35 permanent jobs in order to perform maintenance and inspections along the entire length. (Related article: Environmentalists Futile Battle Against Keystone XL)
The report also mentioned that the threat to the environment that the pipeline offers is far less than many have feared.
Original source: http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/New-Report-States-that-Keystone-XL-will-Only-Create-35-Permanent-New-Jobs.html