Waiting List Grows for Pipeline

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — TransCanada Corp. says it has a waiting list of U.S. oil shippers who want to use an onramp to the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Canadian company announced three years ago that it secured contracts to move crude from the oilfields of North Dakota and Montana. The proposed $140 million Bakken Marketlink pipeline would meet with the Keystone XL in eastern Montana.

TransCanada says oil producers in North Dakota and Montana have turned to trains while the Keystone XL has been debated. The company says the domestic oil shippers still have contracts and are committed to moving their product by pipeline.

The proposed Keystone XL cleared a big hurdle last week when the State Department raised no major environmental objections to its construction.