LONDON (ShareCast) - BP and Enbridge Inc have agreed to spend as much as US$2bn on developing a delivery system to get Canadian heavy crude oil from Illinois to Texas.

The system, expected to be in service by late 2012, will use a combination of existing facilities and new pipelines and cost between US$1bn and US$2bn to complete.

Initial total system capacity will be 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) into the Gulf Coast.

“This proposed project offers timely and economic access for shippers to the US Gulf Coast market,” said Steve Wuori, Executive Vice President, Liquids Pipelines, Enbridge, Inc.

The firm said the project is timed to coincide with the projected ramp-up of crude oil production in western Canada.

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