how the keystone pipeline works
the keystone system transports diluted bitumen and synthetic crude oil from alberta through montana south dakota nebraska kansas and oklahoma to refineries located in texas illinois and oklahoma canada has large reserves of oil locked in oil sands this oil is considered heavy oil which requires a different refining process from other types of oil the production of heavy oil releases particulate matter such as soot as well as chemicals such as sulfides hydrogen cyanide and sulfur the finished keystone xl pipeline is estimated to be able to carry over 800 000 barrels of oil a day 8 the keystone pipeline has been criticized by environmental groups politicians and residents of states through which the pipeline passes these groups have raised concerns about the proposed route s proximity to the sandhill region of nebraska and the ogallala aquifer the latter of which provides a significant portion of the water used to water crops in the united states 9 the bitumen carried by the pipeline to the united states will likely result in higher greenhouse gas emissions 10 for example the national resource defense council nrdc has filed lawsuits in 2017 2019 and in july of 2020 to stop the construction of the pipeline 11 according to the nrdc tar sands oil is much thicker and more corrosive than typical crude oil and is more prone to leaks and spills through the pipeline the group stated that the most recent spill in oct 2019 resulted in 378 000 gallons of oil spilling in north dakota 10 proponents of the pipeline say that it will increase the supply of oil to the united states and that oil coming from a friendly neighboring country increases security 