Seaway oil pipeline reversal expected soon

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HOUSTON, May 3 (UPI) -- Reversing the Seaway crude oil pipeline from Oklahoma to Texas should be completed within the next two weeks, a company spokesman said.

Enterprise Products Partners and Canadian pipeline company Enbridge Inc. in November agreed to reverse the direction of crude oil on the Seaway pipeline so it can carry oil from the trading hub in Cushing, Okla., to refineries along the southern coast of the United States.

Enterprise, during its first quarter earnings release, said reversal was scheduled "as early as May 17," the Platts news service reports.

Both companies said development plans for Seaway could double the pipeline's capacity to 850,000 barrels per day by mid-2014.

Reversing crude oil deliveries on the 512-mile pipeline could reduce transportation costs and accelerate development of crude oil reserves in North America.

Enterprise, during the earnings call, said the initial capacity would be around 150,000 barrels per day and it would take about 12 days for crude to get from Cushing to Houston.