Donald Trump's decision to allow construction of the Keystone Pipeline will cheered by the energy industry and jeered by environmentalists, but the economics of the project, at least, warrant no more than a shrug.
One estimate of the pipeline's job creation says the project will support roughly 250,000 permanent jobs, slightly more than what U.S. economy typically creates in a single month.
Trump also signed an order requiring pipelines constructed in the U.S. to actually be built in the U.S. as well.
A hedge against Middle-East upheaval: Though the jobs impact will be slight, in the plausible scenario that oil imports from the Persian Gulf region were to be seriously disrupted, the Keystone Pipeline would provide much-needed stability to U.S. oil markets.
