The landmark Supreme Court decision gives the five tribes a say over oil and gas wells, refineries, and pipelines — including those running to the Cushing hub of the Keystone XL, legal experts say.
About a quarter of Oklahoma’s recent oil and gas wells and around 60 percent of its refinery capacity now lie within the territory of five tribes — the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole.
Perhaps more importantly, the network of pipelines pumping crude to and from Cushing, Okla. — a crucial oil terminal for the Keystone XL — spider-web across the redrawn reservation borders.
