美国暂停审核加美输油管线 US to Suspend Application Review

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提出建设将加拿大石油输送到美国的输油管线的加拿大公司要求美国国务院暂停审核这个有争议的建设项目。

TransCanada公司星期一宣布已经致函美国国务卿克里,要求暂停审核Keystone XL输油管线的申请,理由是拟议中的输油管线终点内布拉斯加州管理当局正在进行审议。该输油管线长达1900公里。该公司表示,内布拉斯加州当局可能需要长达1年的时间才能完成其审核。

TransCanada公司2008年提出建设申请以来,美国国务院一直在审核这项将耗资80亿美元的输油管线建设计划。如果克里国务卿同意该公司的请求,有关的最后决定就可能推迟到奥巴马总统在2017年1月离任之后。

Keystone XL输油管线建成之后将每天把80万多桶从加拿大阿尔伯塔省油砂中提炼的石油输送到内布拉斯加州,其间穿过蒙大拿州和南达科他州,然后通过现有的输油管送到美国墨西哥湾的炼油厂。

这一建设项目使奥巴马在环保主义者和建设项目支持者之间左右为难。环保主义者声言,这一项目将使气候变暖的形势更加恶化。而支持者则说,这一建设项目将给美国带来迫切需要的就业,还能加强美国的能源自给。

许多环保活动人士发出许多声明,指责TransCanada公司试图拖延时间,把建设审核拖延到2016年总统选举之后,以便获得奥巴马的继任者政府的更多支持。

网络环保组织350.org的创始人麦克基本说,“面对失败,TransCanada公司要求延长时间,显然是希望在美国大选之后有一个新总统。目前是现任的裁判奥巴马总统彻底否决这一建设项目的时候了。”

白宫发言人欧内斯特星期一对记者说,奥巴马总统打算在卸任之前对Keystone XL输油管线建设问题作出最终决定。

The Canadian company behind a proposed pipeline that will carry oil from Canada to the United States has asked the U.S. State Department to suspend its review of the controversial project.

TransCanada announced Monday that it had sent a letter to U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry to halt the review of Keystone XL due to an ongoing regulatory process in the midwestern state of Nebraska, the end point of the 1,900 kilometer pipeline. The company says it could take as long as a year before Nebraska authorities finish their review of the pipeline's route.

The $8 billion proposed pipeline has been under State Department review since TransCanada applied for permission in 2008. If Kerry agrees to TransCanada's request, it could delay a final decision until after President Barack Obama leaves office in January 2017.

Keystone XL would transport more than 800,000 barrels of oil from the tar sands of Alberta across Montana and South Dakota to southern Nebraska, and from there connect to existing pipelines to carry the oil to refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The project has put Obama in the political crosshairs between environmentalists who claim the project will worsen the impact of climate change and supporters who say it will bring needed jobs and boost the nation's energy independence.

A cross section of environmental activists issued a flood of statements accusing TransCanada of biding its time until after the 2016 presidential elections, in hopes a more supportive administration succeeds Obama in the White House.

"In defeat, TransCanada is asking for extra time from the referees, and clearly hoping they’ll get a new head official after the election," said Bill McKibben, founder of the online group 350.org. "It’s time for the current umpire, President Obama, to reject this project once and for all."

White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Monday that the president intends to make a final decision on Keystone XL before he leaves office.