The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition on the refiners in Houston and in the region of the world's energy capital are turning the U.S. Gulf Coast into the bottom of what is essentially a giant funnel of oil delivered by pipelines, railways and river barges. The Globe's Kritsen Hays and Terry Wade write if Canadian crude is not coming via Keystone, the industry will find other ways. Heavy Canadian crude, or bitumen in its undiluted form, is practically tailor-made for the massive refining complex on the Texas coast, which has long been configured to run heavy Latin American crudes arriving by tanker. Thanks to its attractive prices and surging output, Canadian output is displacing crudes from Venezuela and Mexico. Refiners see Canada as a friendly, stable source of cut-price crude, U.S. refiners and logistics companies are adding pipeline connections and terminal capacity along the Gulf Coast at a dizzying clip. The more cheap crude they can get, the more the refineries can run at full tilt and maximize profits by exporting gasoline and diesel as domestic demand slips. Linkages to move Canadian crude to the Gulf have already been built, and workarounds to Keystone XL are under way.