HOUSTON, June 26 (UPI) -- Construction of the Sandpiper pipeline in North Dakota for Bakken crude oil is scheduled to start as early as Tuesday, Enbridge Energy said.
Enbridge, which has headquarters in Houston, said it received the necessary permits from the North Dakota Public Service Commission to start work on the Sandpiper pipeline as early as July 1. The pipeline should go into service in early 2016.
Enbridge Energy President Mark Maki said the pipeline could move more than 20 percent of all the oil produced from the Bakken reserve area in North Dakota.
"The economy in the region and nation overall continue to benefit from Bakken oil production," he said in a statement Wednesday. "This project will help get Bakken product to desirable markets, continuing to bolster economic growth."
North Dakota's economy is outpacing the rest of the nation in part because of oil production. Output from the Bakken area passed the 1 million barrel per day mark for the first time ever in April.
Sandpiper would stretch 616 miles from Tioga, N.D., through Minnesota and to an Enbridge terminal in Superior, Wisc. It would then transfer oil to other pipelines for delivery to the U.S. and Canadian refinery markets.
