By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Mar. 19 -- A partnership of TransCanada Corp. and ConocoPhillips subsidiaries received a presidential permit from the US State Department to proceed with construction, maintenance, and operation of the proposed 2,148-mile Keystone oil pipeline. It will transport Canadian crude to US markets.
"We will begin construction in second-quarter 2008 to achieve an in-service date of fourth-quarter 2009," said Hal Kvisle, TransCanada president and chief executive officer.
Affiliates of TransCanada will construct and operate Keystone, which will be capable of delivering 590,000 b/d of crude from Hardisty, Alta., to US Midwestern markets at Wood River and Patoka, Ill., and to Cushing, Okla. Initial deliveries to Patoka are expected to begin in late 2009.
Keystone has secured firm long-term contracts of 495,000 b/d with an average duration of 18 years.