TransCanada is an industry leader in pipeline integrity and safety. We invest hundreds of millions of dollars each year to maintain the integrity of our system. Our operators monitor our pipeline system through a centralized high-tech Operational Control Centre (OCC) — 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We use satellite technology that sends data to our monitoring centre every five seconds. If a drop in pressure is detected, we can isolate any section of our pipeline within minutes by remotely closing valves on the system.
The biggest risk to pipelines arises when a landowner or a contractor conducts unauthorized excavation on the right of way. To minimize this risk, we run an ongoing public awareness program to ensure local governments, business and residents notify us before they plan construction activities.
TransCanada’s President & CEO Russ Girling traveled to the Piney Woods area of East Texas to deliver a safety message to 600 contract workers who are busy building the Gulf Coast Pipeline project, a 485-mile (780-kilometre), 36-inch crude oil pipeline beginning in Cushing, Okla., and extending south to Nederland, Texas.
Following the safety meeting, Russ visited a right of way in rural Wood County, Texas, where he discussed construction of the “safest pipeline ever built” and the importance of the Gulf Coast Pipeline project for all of North America, the jobs it is creating, and the state-of-the-art materials and techniques used to construct the pipeliine.
The Gulf Coast Pipeline Project is an approximate 485-mile (780-kilometre), 36-inch crude oil pipeline beginning in Cushing, Okla., and extending south to Nederland, Texas, to serve the Gulf Coast marketplace. The 48-mile (77-kilometre) Houston Lateral Project is an additional project under development to transport oil to refineries in the Houston area.
Construction on the Gulf Coast Pipeline commenced August, 2012, with an anticipated in-service date of late 2013. The Gulf Coast Project will have the initial capacity to transport 700,000 barrels of oil per day and can be expanded to transport 830,000 barrels of oil per day to Gulf Coast refineries.
Shipper Application and Accounting
Visit the Keystone Shipper Information page on TransCanada.com