Keystone XL company plans oil terminal

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CALGARY, Alberta, May 10 (UPI) -- The company behind the planned Keystone XL oil pipeline said it received enough support from the industry to move ahead with an oil terminal in Alberta, Canada.

Pipeline company TransCanada said it has received binding commitments for more than 500,000 barrels per day "leading to the opportunity to expand the proposed 2 million barrels of crude oil batch accumulation tankage and pipeline infrastructure to a 2.6 million barrel terminal" in Hardisty, Alberta.

The terminal could become operational by 2014, a year before TransCanada aims to deliver oil through the planned Keystone XL pipeline.

The existing Keystone oil pipeline ties so-called tar sands oil from Alberta to oil refineries in Illinois and the key storage hub in Cushing, Okla. Keystone XL would extend the route to the southern U.S. coast.

"There is overwhelming industry support to transport crude oil safely and reliably to markets across North America," Russ Girling, president and chief executive officer at TransCanada, said in a statement.

Nebraska lawmakers had objected to the route plans for Keystone XL because it would have passed through a vital aquifer in the state. TransCanada has proposed an alternative route and expects to get approval for the project next year.

The Hardisty terminal is expected to cost about $275 million and is subject to regulatory approval.