1.1 	A resolution
1.2 	urging the President and the United States Department of State to approve the 
1.3 	Presidential Permit application allowing the construction and operation of the 
1.4 	TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline between the United States and Canada.
1.5 	WHEREAS, the United States accounts for 20 percent of world energy consumption and 
1.6 	is the world's largest petroleum consumer. The United States consumes more than 18 million 
1.7 	barrels of oil each day, and forecasts suggest this will not change for decades. Current imports 
1.8 	amount to over eight million barrels each day, approximately 50 percent of the United States' 
1.9 	requirements; and
1.10 	WHEREAS, even with new technology, oil discoveries, alternative fuels, and conservation 
1.11 	efforts, the United States will remain dependent on imported energy for decades to come. A secure 
1.12 	supply of crude oil is not only needed for Americans to continue to heat their homes, cook their 
1.13 	food, and drive their vehicles, but to allow the United States economy to thrive and grow free from 
1.14 	the potential threats and disruptions of crude oil supply from less secure parts of the world; and
1.15 	WHEREAS, the growing production of conflict-free oil from Canada's oil sands and the 
1.16 	Bakken formation in Saskatchewan, Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota can replace crude 
1.17 	oil imported from countries that do not share American values, but additional pipeline capacity to 
1.18 	refineries in the United States Midwest and Gulf Coast is required; and 
1.19 	WHEREAS, increasing energy imports from Canada makes sense for the United States. 
1.20 	Canada is a trusted neighbor with a stable democratic government, strong environmental 
1.21 	standards equal to that of the United States, and some of the most stringent human rights and 
1.22 	worker protection legislation in the world; and
2.1 	WHEREAS, improvements in production technology have reduced the carbon footprint 
2.2 	of Canadian oil sands development by 26 percent on a per barrel basis since 1990. Oil sands 
2.3 	production accounts for 6.9 percent of Canada's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 0.1 percent 
2.4 	(1/1000th) of global GHG emissions. Total emissions from Canada's oil sands sector was 48 
2.5 	megatons in 2010, equivalent to 0.5 percent of United States GHG emissions. Oil sands crude has 
2.6 	similar carbon dioxide emissions to other heavy oils and is nine percent more carbon-intensive 
2.7 	than the average crude refined in the United States on a wells-to-wheels basis; and
2.8 	WHEREAS, the 57 refineries in the Gulf Coast region provide a total refining capacity of 
2.9 	approximately 8.7 million barrels per day, or half of United States. refining capacity. In 2011, 
2.10 	these refineries imported approximately five million barrels per day of crude oil from more than 
2.11 	30 countries, with the top four suppliers being Mexico (22 percent), Saudi Arabia (17 percent), 
2.12 	Venezuela (16 percent), and Nigeria (nine percent). Imports from Mexico and Venezuela are 
2.13 	declining as production from those countries decreases and supply contracts expire. Once 
2.14 	completed, TransCanada's Keystone XL and Gulf Coast Expansion projects could displace roughly 
2.15 	40 percent of the oil the United States currently imports from the Persian Gulf and Venezuela; and
2.16 	WHEREAS, the Keystone XL pipeline project has been subject to the most thorough 
2.17 	public consultation process of any proposed United States pipeline, and the subject of multiple 
2.18 	environmental impact statements and several United States Department of State studies, which 
2.19 	have concluded that it poses the least impact to the environment and is much safer than other 
2.20 	modes of transporting crude oil; and
2.21 	WHEREAS, pipelines are the safest method for the transportation of petroleum products 
2.22 	when compared to other methods of transportation. Pipelines are 40 times safer than moving 
2.23 	crude oil by rail and 100 times safer than transporting by truck. Keystone XL will replace the 
2.24 	equivalent of a tanker train 25 miles long, or 200 ocean tankers per year. This will reduce 
2.25 	greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 19 million tons, or the equivalent of taking almost 
2.26 	four million cars off the road; and
2.27 	WHEREAS, the Keystone XL project will create approximately 9,000 construction jobs. 
2.28 	The Gulf Coast project is a $2.3 billion project that will create approximately 4,000 construction 
2.29 	jobs. Combined, they support yet another 7,000 manufacturing jobs. Seventy-five percent of the 
2.30 	pipe used to build Keystone XL in the United States will come from North American mills, 
2.31 	including half made by United States workers. Goods for the pipeline valued at approximately 
2.32 	$800 million have already been sourced from United States manufacturers; NOW, THEREFORE,
2.33 	BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it memorializes 
2.34 	the President to support the continued and increased importation of oil derived from Canadian 
3.1 	oil sands, and urges the United States Secretary of State to approve the newly routed pipeline 
3.2 	application from TransCanada to reduce dependence on unstable governments, improve our 
3.3 	national security, and strengthen ties with an important ally.
3.4 	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is 
3.5 	directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United 
3.6 	States, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of 
3.7 	the United States House of Representatives, the United States Secretary of State, and Minnesota's 
3.8 	Senators and Representatives in Congress.