"We are very pleased with the release and being able to move this next stage of the process," said Russ Girling on a conference call. "It's been long in getting here, but obviously as a company we're well prepared to move into this next phase."

The pipeline will now move into the final stage of the review process. If approved, construction is set to take about two years.

(Reporting by Julie Gordon in Vancouver; Editing by David Gregorio)