TransCanada Corporation (TRP) Says Keystone Gulf Coast Pipeline, The Southern Half Of The Keystone XL Pipeline, Is Now 95% Complete

Energy giant TransCanada Corp. (USA) (NYSE:TRP), the company that is building the Keystone XL pipeline , reported on Wednesday that it anticipates completing the southern portion of the project by the end of October.

The Gulf Coast pipeline, which would help bring more than 700,000 barrels of oil a day from the oil hub of Cushing, Okla., to Texas refineries, is now "95 percent complete,” James Millar, manager of communications at TransCanada, told International Business Times.

Building the 700,000-barrel-a-day Gulf Coast line will cost $2.3 billion, TransCanada has said. It has been under construction since August 2012.

Until recent years, U.S. crude stored in Cushing was shipped north and east, but as more oil was produced in the Upper Midwest and in Canada, refineries in the eastern and northern U.S., as well as in Canada, have not been able to keep up with the glut.

The Canadian company is seeking approval from the U.S. to start construction of the northern half of the Keystone XL project that would bring tar sands oil from Alberta to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries. It is up to President Obama to give the approval because the pipeline crosses the U.S. border.

Currently, Obama has delegated the State Department to determine whether the project is in the U.S.'s "national interest."