Pipeline for Canadian oil to get permit

BISMARCK, N.D. – The U.S. State Department intends to issue a permit this month for a $5.2 billion pipeline that would transport crude oil from Canada through seven states.

The State Department, in a decision published Monday in the Federal Register, said that if no other federal agency objects, a permit will be issued within 15 days for the Keystone pipeline, a project of TransCanada Corp. of Calgary, Alberta.

A permit would allow the project to move forward this spring, TransCanada spokeswoman Cecily Dobson said.

The entire 2,148-mile pipeline will be able to carry 590,000 barrels of oil daily by late 2010, Dobson said

Canadian regulators already have approved the route through Canada, she said.

Business Week