Obama to fast-track oil pipeline, other projects

Published 4:50 pm Wednesday, March 21, 2012

BOULDER CITY, Nev. — President Barack Obama plans to direct federal agencies to fast-track an oil pipeline from Oklahoma to Texas, backing a segment of the larger Keystone XL project that he rejected earlier this year.

The 485-mile line from Cushing, Okla., to refineries on Texas’ Gulf coast would remove a critical bottleneck in the country’s oil transportation system.

The directive, to be announced Thursday, would also apply to other pipelines that alleviate choke points.

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For Obama, the announcement provides an answer to Republicans who say his energy policies, including the rejection of the larger Canada-Texas pipeline, have led to high gas prices, and destroyed jobs.

Obama lobbied Democrats earlier this month to block a GOP bid to force approval of the Keystone project, which environmentalists have rallied against.