TransCanada considers new plans: Keystone pipeline may be built in stages in U.S. first

TransCanada Corp. is considering building U.S. portions of its Keystone XL pipeline and later seeking approval of an Alberta link to circumvent the Obama administration's rejection of the $7-billion project. There is no requirement for a presidential permit to lay pipe anywhere in the United States, provided the line doesn't extend across the border into Canada. On the table is a segment between the oversupplied oil storage hub of Cushing, Okla., and Gulf Coast refining centres in Texas, as well as a longer line from Montana to the Gulf Coast, executives said Thursday. "I think that clearly, with yesterday's decision, we are now open to amending or changing our plans to building this in segments," TransCanada chief executive Russ Girling told an investor conference in Whistler, B.C. "As we've said before, that's dependent on the interest of our shippers in doing that." Building an Oklahoma-to-Texas section alone would cost TransCanada $2 billion, said Girling, who told investors the company has already spent $1.9 billion on the Keystone XL project...more