Keystone Pipeline starts deliveries to US Midwest

TransCanada Corporation has announced that line fill of the first phase of the US$12 billion Keystone Pipeline has been completed and commercial deliveries of crude oil to US Midwest markets at Wood River and Patoka, Illinois commenced on 30 June 2010.

In Canada, the first phase of Keystone involved the conversion of approximately 864 km (537 miles) of existing natural gas pipeline in Saskatchewan and Manitoba to crude oil pipeline service. It also included approximately 373 km (232 miles) of new 30 in. diameter pipeline, 16 pump stations and the Keystone Hardisty Terminal. The US portion of the Keystone Pipeline included 1744 km (1084 miles) of new, 30 in. diameter pipeline in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. It also involved construction of 23 pump stations and delivery facilities at Wood River and Patoka, Illinois. TransCanada has commenced construction of the second phase of Keystone. It includes a 480 km (298 mile) extension from Steele City, Nebraska to Cushing, Oklahoma and 11 new pump stations which will increase the capacity of the pipeline from 435 000 bpd to 591 000 bpd. The second phase of Keystone is expected to be in-service in the first quarter of 2011.

In July 2008, TransCanada announced plans to expand the Keystone crude oil pipeline system and provide additional capacity of 500 000 bpd from Western Canada directly to the US Gulf Coast. An innovative and cost-competitive solution to a growing North American demand for energy, TransCanada received approval in March 2010 from both the National Energy Board in Canada and the South Dakota Public Utility Commission for the proposed Gulf Coast Expansion project. TransCanada expects to commence construction of the Gulf Coast expansion in the first quarter of 2011, pending the receipt of all regulatory approvals.

The Keystone Gulf Coast Expansion project is a 2 673 km (1661 mile), 36 in. crude oil pipeline that would begin at Hardisty, Alberta and extend southeast through Saskatchewan, Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. It would incorporate the portion of the Keystone Pipeline that is currently under construction through Kansas to Cushing, Oklahoma. The pipeline will then continue on through Oklahoma and Texas to a delivery point near existing terminals on the Gulf Coast, to serve the Port Arthur, Texas marketplace. When completed, the expansion project will increase the commercial capacity of the Keystone Pipeline system to approximately 1.1 million bpd.

The US$12 billion Keystone Pipeline system is 83% subscribed with long-term, binding contracts that include commitments of 910 000 bpd for an average term of approximately 18 years.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/01072010/keystone_pipeline_starts_deliveries_to_us_midwest/