America's pipeline wars

Public opposition and shrinking growth opportunities have put the midstream in a tough spot. Expect more deal-making

The business of building pipelines and other energy infrastructure in America used to be fairly quiet. That was before Keystone XL. In scuppering the project, environmental groups stumbled onto their most effective strategy for keeping oil and gas in the ground-cutting off access to markets. Now, nearly every major pipeline project in the US is a battleground between the industry and activists looking to derail Big Oil. The latest flare up came on the plains of North Dakota where a coalition of Native American and environmental groups halted work on the $3.8bn Energy Transfer Partners-backed Dakota Access Pipeline. The line would ship around 470,000 barrels a day of Bakken crude nearly 2,000