Keystone Oil Pipeline From Hardisty, Alberta, to Cushing, Okla. To Expand By 155,000 Barrels

TransCanada Corp. has secured 155,000 barrels per day of additional firm contracts for the proposed Keystone Oil Pipeline project from Hardisty, Alberta, to Cushing, Okla.

The commitments averaging 16 years in duration were obtained through a binding open season held to support an expansion to 590,000 barrels per day.

TransCanada has contracts for 495,000 barrels per day with an average duration of 18 years.

The Keystone Pipeline will have an initial capacity to transport 435,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Hardisty, Alberta to U.S. Midwest markets at Wood River and Patoka, Ill., when it begins service in late 2009.

The expansion and extension would include additional pump stations and the construction of a 294-mile pipeline from the Nebraska/Kansas border to Cushing, with an in-service date of late 2010.

With the Keystone expansion and Cushing extension, capacity will increase to 590,000 barrels per day.

“This commitment from shippers clearly confirms the value of TransCanada’s Keystone project as a cost-competitive way to link growing oil sands supply to U.S. energy markets,” said Hal Kvisle, TransCanada CEO. “With this support, we expect to move to the next phase of the project, expanding the pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast. We plan to market capacity for this next expansion throughout the balance of 2007.”

(c) 2007 Journal Record – Oklahoma City. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.