Markey wants Keystone oil to stay in US

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said on Thursday that only legislative action would keep oil transported through the Keystone XL pipeline from being exported overseas, despite industry pledges to the contrary.

Markey introduced two bills during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Keystone XL on Thursday.

{mosads}If Keystone XL is approved by President Obama, Markey’s legislation would mandate that the crude transported from oil sands in Alberta, Canada, to Gulf of Mexico refineries is kept in the U.S. for consumers and businesses, preventing refiners from exporting it overseas.

“Keystone XL is the capstone of the oil industry’s plan to export North American energy to China and other markets,” Markey said in a statement. “We can’t allow our climate to be harmed by this dirty oil, and then be expected to add the insult of exporting that oil abroad to benefit other economies.”

The other bill, which Markey introduced with Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), would require companies importing oil-sands crude to pay into a trust fund for oil spills. Markey introduced similar legislation when he served in the House.

Where the transported oil could go has been a contentious issue throughout the five-year review process of Keystone XL.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Karen Harbert said during the hearing on Thursday that 100 percent of the oil is under contract to be refined in the U.S., but wouldn’t say how much of the refined product would remain in the country.