TransCanada To Construct 6.2 Million Barrel Crude Storage Site In Cushing

TransCanada will construct 6.2 million barrels of new crude oil storage capacity in Cushing, Oklahoma, according to an official announcement on Monday.

The Calgary-based company has contracted with M2 Infrastructure LLC, affiliated with U.S.-based Lone Star Capital, for the project, which allows for an optional storage expansion of up to 20 million barrels in the future, Reuters reported.

“TransCanada is committed to developing energy infrastructure solutions in the United States and Canada and pursuing this opportunity fits well in our plans to provide enhanced flexibility to our customers,” said Paul Miller, TransCanada’s executive vice-president and president, Liquids Pipelines.

TransCanada will manage and operate the facility, which will be located in the American energy storage center and the “most active crude oil trading hub in the world.” Construction will begin in late 2017, M2 said.

“We are excited to continue transforming the way midstream operators bring efficiencies to their clients,” said J. Robert Collins, Jr., co-founder and Manager of M2 Infrastructure “This project’s unique position in Cushing, combined with the innovative excellence of Matrix, should provide the lowest cost, highest throughput, most liquid and most connected storage solution in the midcontinent – eliminating costly limitations of alternative storage programs.”

In the United States, TransCanada is most known for its backing of the Keystone XL pipeline. In February, the company said it had filed an application with the Nebraska Public Service Commission (PSC) to gain approval for the pipeline to pass through the state, in a largely expected move since President Trump gave the green light to the project at the federal level last month.

“The PSC process is the clearest path to achieving route certainty for the project in Nebraska and is expected to conclude in 2017,” TransCanada said in its statement.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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