WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department said it gave consent to pipeline company Kinder Morgan to connect, operate and maintain an oil pipeline at the U.S.-Canadian border.
Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said in a "presidential permit" published by the State Department that Kinder Morgan was granted permission to oversee "pipeline facilities at the border of the United States and Canada at a point in Renville County [N.D.] as a common carrier for the transport of light liquid hydrocarbons between the United States and Canada."
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners said it plans to reverse the direction of its Cochin oil pipeline so it can move natural resources from Illinois to Alberta.
Kinder said in its project description the pipeline could provide 95,000 barrels per day of oil to the Alberta market. Shipments through the reversed pipeline could begin as early as 2014, the company said.
A presidential permit is needed for pipelines designed to cross the U.S.-Canadian border. Kinder Morgan had no statement in response to the permit for the Cochin pipeline's reversal.
