The head of the Oklahoma Oil and Gas Association maintains the decision to move ahead with possible construction of the Keystone XL pipeline and the completion of the Dakota Access pipeline is good news for Oklahoma’s oil and gas industry.
Chad Warmington, President of OKOGA issued a statement following the Monday morning announcement from the White House.
“Here in Oklahoma, we are glad that President Trump is making good on the promises former-President Obama stated during his visit to Cushing, Oklahoma in 2012,” said Warmington. “President Trump’s executive orders provide additional confidence here in Oklahoma where we have one of the largest crude oil storage facilities in the world and we are in the midst of building the Diamond Pipeline from Cushing to Memphis, Tennessee.”
Warmington said the new Diamond pipeline will create 1,500 jobs and provide $11 million a year in property tax revenue for communities along the route.
“Pipeline construction will also be critical to the new and promising SCOOP and STACK plays in western Oklahoma,” he added. “Pipelines are the safest, most environmentally friendly and most cost-efficient way to transport our nation’s crude oil and offers clean air advantages by reducing the need for flaring.”
Warmington welcomed what he called a new era of certainty “where industry’s efforts to establish stringent safety and environmental standards, most often beyond federal and local requirements, will not be dismissed for the sake of political games.”
Listen to Warmington as he was interviewed by Michael Dean.
