The only snag is a physical one:
the lack of pipeline capacity to the Pacific coast.
The report does envision scenarios in which oil sands development is curbed by a combination of lower oil prices and
a lack of pipeline capacity.
Canada's oil sands producers, frustrated by
a lack of pipeline capacity, are also turning to trains to ship their products.
The benchmark price in North America, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), is about $ 95 per barrel, but Canadian producers are getting far less, partly because of
a lack of pipeline capacity to handle exports to the United States and other global markets.
Could it be lower prices, the hostile attitude,
the lack of pipeline capacity... did I mention the hostile attitude?
The railroad industry is eager to fill in for
the lack of pipeline capacity.
Until long - term shifts in relevant policies — like stricter vehicle efficiency standards — more deeply curtail oil demand in the United States,
the lack of pipeline capacity will continue to increase train transport of fuel from North American oil fields.
A silver lining of
a lack of pipeline capacity is that it creates a greater itch for game - changing downstream innovation.