OREANDA-NEWS. February 06, 2017. The 470,000 b/d Dakota Access crude pipeline (DAPL), which has been delayed following large protests, should be completed in the second quarter of this year, a partner in the project said today.

Phillips 66 chief executive Greg Garland made the statement while reporting fourth quarter earnings. Phillips 66 owns a 25pc stake in the project.

The main developers of DAPL are Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics Partners.

Earlier this week, two Republican lawmakers said the US Army Corps of Engineers is close to issuing the final easement needed to complete construction of the \\$3.8bn pipeline which would carry at least 470,000 b/d of crude from the Bakken fields in North Dakota to Patoka, Illinois, for further delivery to the Gulf coast.

Senator John Hoeven (R-North Dakota) and representative Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota) said federal officials have told them that the Army Corps would be granting an easement that DAPL needs for a river crossing in North Dakota. Former President Barack Obama's administration had denied the easement in December to provide time for a new environmental review.

DAPL was planned to come into service by 1 January 2017, but protests and federal permitting delays have prevented completion.

The Standing Rock Sioux tribe led large protests against the pipeline. The tribe alleges that DAPL would destroy sacred, culturally significant and historic sites, and threaten drinking water sources. Energy Transfer denies the allegations.

The Standing Rock tribe and other opponents have threatened to go back to court if the Army Corps approves the easement without first conducting an environmental impact statement.

Energy Transfer, Sunoco and Phillips 66 have been separately pushing a federal court to issue a ruling that the pipeline was functionally approved in July 2016, which would allow them to immediately start construction. The federal court hearing in that case plans to hold a status hearing on 6 February.

DAPL will connect to the Energy Transfer Crude Oil Pipeline (ETCOP) which will move crude from Patoka to Nederland, Texas, providing a direct route from the Bakken to the Gulf coast.

The ETCOP project included converting a natural gas pipeline to oil service and building new pipeline segments. The ETCOP project is complete and ready for service, Energy Transfer said today.