TransCanada Talks Progress On Oklahoma To Texas Pipeline

The southern route of the Keystone XL pipeline spans 210 miles and will stretch from Cushing to the Gulf of Mexico. It will pump as much as 700,000 barrels of oil a day.

Thursday, March 22nd 2012, 7:20 pm

By: News On 6

TransCanada Talks Progress On Oklahoma To Texas Pipeline

CUSHING, Oklahoma -- The southern route of the Keystone XL pipeline spans 210 miles and will stretch from Cushing to the Gulf of Mexico. It will pump as much as 700,000 barrels of oil a day.

Thursday, TransCanada executives mapped out the logistics and progress of the project.

TransCanada says the materials are ready, contracts are signed and almost all the land rights have been secured to build a pipeline from Oklahoma to the Texas Gulf Coast.

"TransCanada is in the business of transporting energy. We do an incredible job, we have great reputation," said Robert Jones, TransCanada Vice President.

Company executives are aiming to start the pipeline construction as early as May. They hope to have it complete within a year.

"In order to get it done in the 9-12 months, we are going to need to have multiple crews working," Jones said.

Crews will build at six spots simultaneously and connect to each other. For the Oklahoma portion, TransCanada hopes to employ as many as 800 people in pipeline construction and another 200 in other jobs.

"There's Cushing terminal construction, there's pump station construction, there's inspection, engineering. There's probably about a thousand jobs directly impacted here in Oklahoma," Jones said.

The pipes in the TransCanada yard in Cushing are about 3 feet in diameter and will make up the first 41 miles or so of the pipeline.

The company estimates construction of the pipeline will bring a billion dollar boost to the state economy. The pipeline will also unclog the logjam of oil in Cushing, where the oversupply of oil waiting to get to refineries results in local producers receiving $10 less per barrel.

"We're seeing recognition of how important energy is to the economy and how important this project is with regards to solving some of the problems we have now," Jones said.

TransCanada says the bottleneck of oil is so large in Cushing, there's a need for more than just the Keystone project.

TransCanada says it's changing the route of the northern segment of the pipeline to avoid environmental questions raised in Nebraska.

If that plan is approved by the State Department, construction on the Canada to U.S. segment could start next summer.