Southern leg of Keystone XL oil pipeline almost complete

TransCanada has reported that the southern leg of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline may is almost complete.

Nicknamed the Gulf Coast Pipeline, the southern part is expected to soon be carrying up to 700 000 bpd of oil from Cushing, Oklahoma, to Nederland, Texas, by the end of the year. TransCanada’s oil pipeline has a designed capacity up to 830 000 bpd.

"The Gulf Coast Pipeline is over 80% complete," said Grady Semmens, a TransCanada Corp. spokesman. The pipeline still needs to be tied in to existing infrastructure and the company has to complete a few pump stations, Semmens added.

He noted that testing of the pipeline is under way and that the commissioning process will begin soon.

Northern leg

The 485 mile southern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline project crosses no international boundaries. Its much-delayed northern counterpart would run from the Alberta oilsands and is subject to State Department approval.

Earlier, President Barack Obama said the project's fate hinges on its carbon footprint and vowed that it will win approval only if it "does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution."

In March, the State Department concluded that the Keystone XL pipeline was unlikely to cause major changes in the amount of carbon emissions tied to the development of Canada’s oilsands crude, in a preliminary report.

Environmentalists and opponents say the pipeline would expand the marketplace for Canada's oilsands crude, which people argue may have a higher carbon footprint than conventional crude due to its energy-intensive mining process. There are also concerns over a possible spill.

TransCanada officials contend that Keystone XL and the Gulf Coast pipeline will be the safest ever built. The company has assured it will conduct extra testing, maintenance and inspections of the pipelines, beyond federal requirements.

Edited from various sources by Cecilia Rehn.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/08072013/southern_leg_of_keystone_xl_oil_pipeline_almost_complete_381/