Houston Chronicle: Energy alliance official: Keystone approval likely soon.  “I think there’s no doubt the Keystone pipeline will be approved in fairly short order and generate economic growth,” John Northington, counsel to the alliance, said. But Northington and former Bush campaign official Michael Whatley (NGP Photo), executive vice president of the alliance, agreed looming talks about tax reform threaten to hurt independent drilling companies if the tax credit for intangible drilling costs is cut or eliminated. “If you take away those intangible drilling costs (for) independent producers, 25 percent of their [...]