Energy Transfer Partners LP on Tuesday said it was not slowing down construction of its Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota, a project contested by environmentalists and Native Americans groups.
“The statement released last night by the Army Corps was a mistake and the Army Corps intends to rescind it,” Energy Transfer said in a statement. “To be clear, Dakota Access Pipeline has not voluntarily agreed to halt construction of the pipeline in North Dakota.”
An Army Corps spokesman told Bloomberg News on Monday that the company had agreed to slow down construction. The Army Corps was not immediately available for comment.
The company said also construction of the pipeline is complete on each side of Lake Oahe, and it is currently mobilizing horizontal drilling equipment in preparation to drill under Lake Oahe. It expects the mobilization process to take two weeks.
Energy Transfer said it was confident that it will receive an easement for two strips of land adjacent to Lake Oahe, and expects no significant delays in its plans to drill under the lake.
Enbridge Energy Partners L.P., an affiliate of Calgary-based Enbridge Inc., announced in August it was spending $1.5 billion US to acquire a stake in the Bakken Pipeline System, which includes the Dakota Access pipeline and the Energy Transfer Crude Oil pipeline.