Enbridge Inc. and ExxonMobil Pipeline Co.'s proposed Texas Access Pipeline will transport 400,000 b/d Canadian heavy crude oil from Patoka, Ill., to Texas City, Texas, using a combination of existing facilities and new pipeline construction.

According to Enbridge, the project entails building a new 768-mile, 30-inch-diameter pipeline from ExxonMobil Pipeline's crude oil terminal in Patoka southward to a delivery point near existing terminals in Nederland, Texas.

The project also features an 88-mile, 24-inch pipeline to transport crude oil onward from Nederland to a delivery point in the East Houston area. By connecting various existing terminals in Nederland and Houston, the new pipeline will provide shippers flexibility of moving onto different crude oil distribution pipelines.

Enbridge states that the pipeline could be in service in 2012.