Although a second option is being considered for construction of a oil pipeline through the U.S. by TransCanada, a proposal that would include part of the pipeline coming through Grundy County still remains in the running.
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Although a second option is being considered for construction of a oil pipeline through the U.S. by TransCanada, a proposal that would include part of the pipeline coming through Grundy County still remains in the running.
A public meeting was held in Trenton on Wednesday night to explain the proposal by the company, which plans to lay about 1,000 miles of pipeline that would go from Canada to a site in Wood River, IL. The original plan for the Keystone Project called for portions of the pipeline to run through Harrison, Grundy, Sullivan, Linn and Chariton counties in the Green Hills Area on its way to the Illinois site. However, a memorandum of understanding signed by TransCanada with Conoco Phillips last week has resulted in a second plan being considered. The memorandum includes an agreement by Conoco Phillips to use the company’s pipeline as well as giving Conoco Phillips the option to obtain as much as 50 percent ownership of the line.
Brian Johnson, project manager, said no final decision has been made as to where the pipeline would actually be placed. He said the company would be visiting over the next four weeks with businesses who will be using the pipeline to determine which option would best benefit the owners and users.
The second option would still run through Missouri, however, would enter the state at a more southern point. This, Peterson said, would give the company more access to larger markets in the south and along the Gulf Coast.
Peterson noted that Canada is second only to Saudi Arabia in providing oil sources, adding that only about 3 percent of the country’s oil reserves have been tapped. TransCanada already has 25,000 miles of pipeline in Canada, Mexico and the U.S., including 6,000 miles in the U.S.
Peterson said he expects information from meetings planned during the next four to six weeks to provide the answers the company is seeking as they make a determination as to where the pipeline might actually run. It is the company’s intent to begin construction in the second quarter of 2008, with service to begin by the fourth quarter of 2009.