http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cr...change-oils-landscape-2011-10-28?pagenumber=2 Cross-border pipeline may change oilâs landscape Market mulls benefits, drawbacks of TransCanadaâs Keystone Pipeline SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) â A proposed pipeline stretching from Canada to the United States may contribute to a rise in the nationâs prices for oil, and has the potential to significantly change the landscape of the market. Itâs called the Keystone Gulf Coast Expansion Pipeline Project, or Keystone XL, and a final decision on permit approval for the project is expected to come by the end of the year. <b>âThe entire pipeline, when all four phases are done, would deliver 1.3 million barrels a day of crude to the U.S.,â </b> The pipeline would stretch from Hardisty, Alberta in Canada, crossing six states and serving markets at Cushing, Okla. (the delivery hub for New York Mercantile Exchange-traded crude), Houston and Port Arthur, Texas. Once completed, the pipeline âwill definitely have an effect on the [West Texas Intermediate] crude-oil benchmark posting for use as an index by the big Wall Street investors,â said Bob van der Valk, a petroleum-industry analyst based in Terry, Mont. A lack of transportation options for oil at Cushing had contributed to a glut of the commodity in storage at the delivery hub, prompting prices for WTI crude, which had previously been used as a global benchmark, to trade significantly lower than Brent crude traded in London. <b>The downsides</b> But despite all the benefits the Keystone pipeline may have for the bulk of the oil industry, there are some significant downsides. <b>The pipeline may contribute to a rise in U.S. oil prices, lifting it to levels more on pare with global prices â which could hurt refiners. âThe impact on oil producers in Oklahoma, West Texas and North Dakota will be higher prices, as the price which is depressed below the rest of the world rises to international prices,â said Williams. âThe only losers in this would be the refiners in the area which have benefited from the below-market price of WTI.â</b> Consumers, on the other hand, probably wonât have to worry too much about a spike in prices for oil products. âThe price gasoline and diesel in the market served from Cushing oil already reflects the international price,â the WRTG economic noted. Read why Brentâs to blame for retail gas prices.