TransCanada expands Keystone oil pipeline plan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp increased the capacity for its proposed $ 7 billion Canada to Texas crude oil pipeline after receiving additional shipper support for extending the line to Houston refineries, the company said on Thursday.

TransCanada said it received enough support from shippers to proceed with a $600 million lateral line from the pipeline's terminus at Nederland, Texas, to Houston, a 48-mile (80-kilometer) stretch. With the lateral, Keystone XL's capacity will rise to 830,000 barrels per day from 700,000 bpd.

While shippers back the controversial line, Keystone XL is still under review by the U.S. State Department. The Obama administration last month delayed approving the line until at least late in 2012 while the company revises the line's route away from environmentally sensitive areas in Nebraska.

The pipeline system, which has faced resistance from environmental groups, has secured long-term firm contracts of more than 1.1 million bpd, the company added. The line is expected to be in service by the end of 2014.

(Reporting by Scott Haggett; editing by Andrea Evans)