Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE: ETP) on Nov. 10 said an easement from the Army Corps of Engineers to drill under Lake Oahe will unlock an additional $1.4 billion in financing for its Dakota Access Pipeline.
The company has already drawn $1.1 billion from its $2.5 billion credit facility but needs the easement, a right to use the property without possessing it, to access the remaining $1.4 billion. Energy Transfer expects the U.S. government to make a decision on the Dakota Access "anytime" now, executives said on Nov. 10 during the company's third-quarter earnings call.
The company this week said it was mobilizing equipment to drill under Lake Oahe, the water source that has been a focus of the protests surrounding the project. The mobilization will take two weeks, after which the company expects to begin construction.
RELATED: Energy Transfer: Dakota Access Construction Not Slowing Down
Drilling under the lake will take about 90 to 100 days, executives said on Nov. 10.
Banks financing the $3.7 billion Dakota Access Pipeline have come under increased pressure from activists to pull their support of the project amid concerns that the line will destroy sacred lands and that a spill might contaminate drinking water.
Earlier this week, Norwegian bank DNB said it would reconsider its participation in financing the project if the concerns of tribes were not addressed. Meanwhile, Citigroup Inc. on Nov. 8 said it had discussed its concerns with Energy Transfer and urged the company to reach a resolution with the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.
The election of Republican Donald Trump, who has voiced support for other pipeline projects such as TransCanada Corp.'s (NYSE: TRP) Keystone XL, may be a positive development for the Dakota Access, which saw construction halted in North Dakota by the U.S. government in September.
RELATED: Analysts Decipher Trump's Impact On Energy
Energy Transfer CEO Kelcy Warren on Nov. 9 said the election's outcome was "favorable" for the Dakota Access project as well as other energy infrastructure projects.
The company said on Nov. 10 it was still working to get firm shipping commitments for the 570,000-barrel-per-day (bbl/d) pipeline, adding that the system is contracted over the 450,000 bbl/d previously disclosed.
The 1,172-mile (1,885 km) pipeline will transport crude from the Bakken Shale of North Dakota to the Midwest, and connect to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
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