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Despite Legal Wrangling, North Dakota's Access Pipeline to Start in Q2

Despite Legal Wrangling,  North Dakota's Access  Pipeline to Start in Q2
Despite Legal Wrangling,  North Dakota's Access  Pipeline to Start in Q2

The chief executive of Phillips 66 said on Friday he expects the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline to start operations in the second quarter, even though the project - which has sparked protests by Native Americans and environmentalists - is still in the midst of legal battles and a US regulatory review.

Phillips 66 has a 25% stake in the $3.8 billion project led by Energy Transfer Partners LP. Phillips 66's CEO, Greg Garland, made the comments on a conference call with analysts to discuss quarterly earnings, Reuters reported.

The pipeline was originally set to start in late 2016 but has faced intense protests and legal challenges from climate activists and native Americans, led by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose land in North Dakota runs adjacent to the route.

"Commercial operations are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2017, pending the issuance of an easement from the US Army Corps of Engineers to complete work beneath the Missouri River on DAPL," Phillips 66 said in its earnings news release.

On Wednesday, the US Army said it had taken initial steps to "expeditiously review requests for approvals to construct and operate" the pipeline per an order issued by President Donald Trump, but the project's easement has not yet been approved.

The pipeline is expected to carry some 470,000 barrels per day of crude oil from North Dakota's Bakken shale play into Illinois, and is more than 95% complete, according to a Phillips 66.

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