Date: January 24, 2012
To: Valero Employees
From: Bill Klesse
Subject: Keystone XL Pipeline Statement
As you know, the Obama administration decided last week to deny TransCanada’s application to ship crude oil via the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast. Valero has planned to be a shipper and purchaser of that oil since 2008, and obviously we were disappointed in the decision. We issued a statement in response to questions from the media, and I wanted to share it with you in case you get questions from friends or business partners, and so that you would know why Valero supports the Keystone XL pipeline.
This is the statement: Despite the uncertainty and political fighting over the Keystone XL pipeline, Valero has continued to invest in its U.S. refining operation. In 2011 we spent nearly $3 billion on projects, and for 2012 our capital expenditure budget is over $3 billion. These expenditures are keeping our employees on the job and putting additional people to work.
To reference two of our refineries, at Port Arthur, Texas, we have 1,600 contractors working on an expansion project, and at St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, we have another 1,000 contractors working on a separate project. We need this kind of economic activity to accelerate to help all Americans.
This illustrates why the federal government’s rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline is so absurd. There are pipelines in every neighborhood all across America. The administration’s decision was not about pipelines, it was about the misguided beliefs that Canadian oil sands development should be stopped and that fossil fuel prices should increase to make alternative energy more attractive.
Instead, we should be impressed with how well the oil sands engineering and recovery technology has advanced, and the economic benefits this development brings. Having more oil available in the marketplace has the potential to lower prices for consumers. As an independent refiner, Valero buys all of the oil we process.
Due to the administration’s misguided policies, refiners like Valero will have to buy more oil from other sources outside the U.S. and Canada. Consumers will bear the additional shipping cost, not to mention the additional greenhouse gas emissions and political risks.
With all the issues facing our country, it is absolutely unbelievable our federal government says no to a company like TransCanada that is willing to spend over $7 billion and put Americans to work on a pipeline. The administration’s decision throws dirt into the face of our closest ally and largest trading partner.
The point above is that it is not about pipelines as many pipelines cross the Ogallala Aquifer, in the Great Plains region, and, in fact, there is already significant oil and gas production in the area covered by the aquifer. This is politics at its worst.
Thanks for your support.
Until next time,
Polly
Polly, what is the source of this memorandum to employees?
I am not sure I understand the question. Bill Klesse sent this to his employees.
There is no evidence of this message on the Valero website and the style combined with grammatical errors doesn’t look like any correspondence Klesse would release for public consumption. Basically, I’m asking “how did you confirm that this message was actually released to Valero employees?”. It looks bogus; suspicious; unauthenticated; ???
It is my understanding that it came from an employee.
Wait, so you don’t have any idea if this really came from him or not?
I believe it did.
No offense, but do you know it did, or do you believe it did? There is an enormous difference. If you only ‘believe’ it did, can you share why you believe it, so that the rest of us can decide if we believe it or not?
The only way I can KNOW is if I hear it from him directly. I do have very credible contacts in the Oil and Gas industry. This memo was received by an employee of Valero, who forwarded it to others in the industry.