The force majeure declared by TC Energy Corp. in some crude flows through the massive Keystone pipeline prompted traders and refiners to raise the price of a critical grade of oil, potentially adding to already rampant energy inflation. The outage, which was caused by a power outage at a pumping station in South Dakota — where temperatures topped 100 Fahrenheit (38 Celsius), or 20 degrees above normal — came after Biden returned from a meeting with royals of Saudi Arabia without any promise to immediately expand crude supplies. The leader of the world’s largest economy has been dogged for months by criticism over his handling of the worst inflation in decades and soaring prices for everything from gas to groceries. With the US midterm elections less than four months away, Biden has laid some of the blame on Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and warned domestic consumers that they may have to put up with the high price at the pump for a while. In the refining and petrochemicals region that hugs the US Gulf Coast, the discount at which Canadian Cold Lake crude for August delivery is trading in benchmark futures fell more than 8 percent to US$8 a barrel, according to Link Data Services. TC Energy said in a statement that it does not know how long the outage will last. Cold Lake crude is a type of heavy oil extracted from the oil sands region of northern Alberta and is preferred by some Texas and Louisiana refineries equipped to convert it into gasoline, diesel and other products.
