The Keystone XL South Is Complete, Getting Ready For The "Line Fill" -- A Most Incredible Success Story; How The Bakken Changed Everything

This is a huge story. Maybe the most important story of the month, but it's only the third of the month. Don't hold your breath.

RBN Energy provides an update on Keystone XL South. If that link breaks, a snippet will always be here.

For newbies:

• the Keystone XL was to bring heavy crude oil from Canada, across the border in Montana, through North Dakota, through Cushing, to the Gulf Coast where the refineries are
• the glut of oil at Cushing was pushing down the price of oil; relieving that glut was just one benefit of the Keystone XL
• the refineries along the coast are optimized for heavy oil (Canadian oil) not Bakken light oil
• the President killed Keystone XL 1.0; wouldn't permit the "XL" pipeline to cross into the US
• TransCanada pressed on, building the southern leg from Cushing to Canada
• the Montana governor got in on the act; didn't want to approve the XL crossing his state (it's funny -- during those days, it seems, North Dakota was "going it alone")
• there were a lot of stories in the mainstream media saying Texan ranchers would never allow the Keystone XL to be complete in Texas; so much background noise; everyone has a price
• the southern leg is completed; the company had expected first flow to begin first week in November
• "line fill" delayed to first week in December; company says flow to begin by end of December, 2013
• what to watch for: price of Bakken with completion of southern leg
• RBN Energy will call this Cushing to Gulf Coast Keystone XL South the "CRM" 

Some related posts:

• the Keystone XL South is not fully subscribed, November 16, 2013
• Keystone XL South almost complete; the "line fill" projections, October 2, 2013
• they should have called it a different name, May 11, 2013
• is the price of Bakken crude tied to the Keystone XL, February 24, 2013
• TransCanada XL South temporarily halted by Texas judge, December 11, 2012

What could have been?  How the Bakken changed everything. From the linked RBN Energy article:

A big part of the supply challenge upstream from Cushing is that the delayed Keystone XL pipeline from Hardisty was supposed to feed crude into Cushing that would flow into the MPC all the way to the Gulf Coast. When the Keystone XL is built it will carry 830 Mb/d of crude from Canada and (via an “on ramp” in Montana) the Bakken. That pipeline is now delayed until at least 1Q 2016 if it receives a presidential permit. So in the circumstances it’s not surprising that producers who originally signed up to ship barrels on the complete Keystone XL pipeline may not be able to take up capacity on the Cushing leg only. Compelling evidence that MCP is undersubscribed came earlier in November when TransCanada launched an Open Season seeking additional shippers on the pipeline. That solicitation meant that there is still space available on the pipeline for long-term shippers. The challenge for those shippers will be securing supplies in Cushing. That’s reason number 2 why the MPC will not start out at full capacity.

So many story lines. But have to move on.