Nod given for U.S. leg of Keystone XL

CALGARY, Alberta, June 27 (UPI) -- Canadian pipeline company TransCanada said it secured some permits needed to build the U.S. leg of the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

TransCanada had to reapply for a section of the planned Keystone XL pipeline from oil fields in Canada after lawmakers in Nebraska objected to original route plans.

The domestic Gulf Coast Project is a 485-mile leg of the pipeline that would stretch from Cushing, Okla., to southern Texas. Another 47-mile project would transport oil to refineries in Houston.

TransCanada spokesman Shawn Howard told the Platts news service the company secured one of the three permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers it needs to build the southern U.S. leg of the Keystone XL pipeline.

"We continue to believe that we will be in a position to begin construction later this summer and are working with the corps and others to secure the approvals and permits we require," he was quoted as saying.

The section from Canada needs federal approval because it would cross international borders. No such permit is required for the U.S. section and TransCanada expects to have oil flowing through that section by the second half of 2013. The initial transport capacity would be 700,000 barrels of oil per day.

A decision on the resubmitted application is expected early next year.