InsideClimateNews reports that much of the analysis by the State Department in its Keystone XL Pipeline review relied on material from “Jacobs Consultancy, a group that is owned by a big tar sands developer and that was hired by the Alberta government—which strongly favors the project.”  

“The Jacobs Consultancy is a subsidiary of Jacobs Engineering , a giant natural resources development company with extensive operations in Alberta’s tar sands fields.”  

“Jacobs Consultancy has carried out influential studies assessing the oil sands’ carbon footprint—research that has played a role in in the Obama administration’s review of the Keystone XL.”  

“As a rule, the Jacobs carbon footprint estimates of the tar sands oil that would move through the Keystone XL were considerably lower than alternative estimates produced by the U.S. National Energy Technology Laboratory, or NETL, which is part of the Energy Department and is independent of tar sands commercial interests.”  

Crossposted at Wonk Wire.