Name and location
Keystone pipeline Gulf Coast expansion (Keystone XL) project, Canada and the US.

Client
TransCanada Corporation (TransCanada).

Project description
The Keystone XL pipeline project will enable Canadian and US oil producers to have more access to the large refining markets in the American Midwest and along the US Gulf Coast.

The project proposes a 1 897 km, 36-inch-diameter crude oil pipeline, beginning in Hardisty, Alberta, and extending south to Steele City, Nebraska, in Canada and the US respectively. This pipeline is a critical infrastructure project for the energy security of the US.

Along with transporting crude oil from Canada, the Keystone XL pipeline will also support the significant growth of crude oil production in the US from producers in the Bakken region of Montana and North Dakota.

The pipeline will have capacity to transport 830 000 bbl/d of oil to Gulf Coast and Midwest refineries, reducing American dependence on oil from Venezuela and the Middle East by up to 40%.

Value
$8-billion.

Duration
TransCanada expects to have the pipeline in service by 2015.

Latest developments
Delayed by years of bureaucratic red tape and environmentalist opposition, Canadian energy infrastructure operator TransCanada has written a letter to US State Department Secretary John Kerry, asking the department to delay its review of the ‘presidential permit’ application for the Keystone XL pipeline.

"We are asking State to pause its review of Keystone XL, based on the fact that we have applied to the Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC) for approval of its preferred route in the state. I note that when the status of the Nebraska pipeline route was challenged last year, the State Department found it appropriate to suspend its review until that dispute was resolved. We feel a similar suspension would be appropriate under the current circumstances,” TransCanada president and CEO Russ Girling has stated.

TransCanada filed an application with the Nebraska PSC in September to seek approval for the Keystone XL route through the state, dropping its ‘eminent domain’ actions to force landholders to provide access to land and taking steps to terminate constitutional court proceedings in Holt County, Nebraska.

The project has undergone five independent reviews of safety and potential environmental impacts by the US State Department, as well as one authored by the state of Nebraska after its year-long public process. All reviews have concluded that the project can be built and operated safely, with minimal impact on the environment.

Despite having route authority to build the pipeline, uncertainty in the courts about the constitutionality of how the route’s approved is likely to proceed to the Nebraska Supreme Court.

Should the request be granted, TransCanada expects to secure route approval by the Nebraska Public Service Commission in 7 to 12 months.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Keystone XL has been delayed, owing to the rejection of TransCanada’s application for a permit to build and operate the project.

Contact Details for Project Information
TransCanada, tel +1 866 717 7473 or email keystone@transcanada.com.