TransCanada pushes ahead on Keystone segment

[CHIMO]

Source: CBC News

TransCanada Corp. could begin construction of a vital segment of its Keystone XL oil pipeline before U.S. regulators have signed off on the project as a whole.

Executives at the company told an investor conference in Toronto Wednesday that the section of pipeline between the energy hub of Cushing, Okla. and the U.S. Gulf Coast could be prioritized, to alleviate a supply glut.

As it stands, millions of barrels of crude oil come into Cushing every day from all across North America, but there isn't enough infrastructure in place at the moment to efficiently move it to refineries and export ports on the coast. There's a massive bottleneck, which has depressed prices for North American oil versus its European counterpart, Brent Crude.

Indeed, TransCanada rival Enbridge Inc. announced Wednesday it would pay $1.15 billion US to acquire a half-stake in the Seaway pipeline, and reverse its flow to bring crude from Cushing to the Gulf. The Seaway could potentially move 350,000 barrels a day.



Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/11/16/keystone-pipeline.html

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Nov 16, 2011 2:33 PM ET Read 498 comments