TransCanada's Gulf Coast pipeline nearly complete

CALGARY, Alberta, Oct. 3 (UPI) -- Pipeline company TransCanada said it expects to finish construction of the Gulf Coast oil pipeline from Oklahoma to Texas by the end of the month.

TransCanada said construction of the 485-mile pipeline is about 95 percent complete. It's been building the pipeline from an oil hub in Cushing, Okla., to Texas since August.

"Major construction of the pipeline is expected to be completed by the end of October," TransCanada spokesman Shawn Howard said in a statement emailed Wednesday to UPI. "Further work will need to be done before we begin filling the pipeline with crude oil and that work is expected to be completed in the near future as well."

The Gulf Coast pipeline is designed to carry up to 700,000 barrels of oil per day and could expand to 830,000 bpd.

"In keeping with the confidential requirements of agreements with our customers, we are not in a position to provide a breakdown of the blends or volumes of products we will be transporting," Howard said.

The pipeline could link to the planned Keystone XL oil pipeline TransCanada wants to complete for delivery of so-called oil sands from Alberta. The cross-border section needs approval from the U.S. government to proceed.