Further delays for Keystone XL

Facing delays from US review, TransCanada has pushed the forecast startup date for the Keystone XL project into 2016, the second delay this year.

According to Chief Executive Officer Russ Girling, the pipeline that will stretch from Alberta's oil sands to the US Gulf Coast can begin operating no sooner than two years after it gets a US presidential permit. With the permit expected early next year, Girling said in an interview this week "There's no way we can get it done faster than two years."

Costs for Keystone are now estimated at approximately US$ 5.4 billion, including extensions to be built from the US oil storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, and to gather supplies from the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and Montana. According to Chief Financial Officer Don Marchand, such costs will continue to rise amid the delays.

Girling has also attempted to recast the increasingly polarised debate, stating that delays in pipeline projects are forcing companies to ramp up shipments of oil by rail, which he believes is a threat to public safety. Earlier this week he said, “We’ve seen an increase in tail movement, which has put the public safety at risk.”

Edited from various sources by Hannah Priestley-Eaton

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/20112013/further_delays_for_keystone_xl/