The southern leg of TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline is operational,TransCanada said, with crude oil first injected Saturday into the $2.3 billion pipeline between Cushing, Oklahoma and the Gulf Coast.
The 485-mile pipeline is expected to be in commercial operation following testing. It has a fill capacity of 3 million barrels and is expected to move up to 700,000 barrels a day.
The southern leg of the pipeline called the Gulf Coast Project will transport oil from Canada’s oil sands and the Bakken Shale in North Dakota to refineries on the Gulf Coast, including those near Houston.
TransCanada received clearance for the pipeline out of Cushing to the Gulf Coast, which went into construction in August 2012.
President Barack Obama has refused to issue a permit for the remainder of the project. Another application is pending.
