By Dave Cooper, Edmonton Journal November 22, 2012
EDMONTON – Enbridge says it has received the support of oil shippers for a $1.8-billion pipeline project linking Edmonton and Hardisty, the hub for Alberta’s oil exports.
The project will include a 36-inch, 179-kilometre pipeline along with new tankage and terminal facilities in both Edmonton and Hardisty.
The line will initially be able to move 570,000 barrels per day and could be in service by mid-2015. It will follow the route of the existing Enbridge Line 4 Pipeline.
“The Edmonton to Hardisty expansion program will align the capability of our system with our shippers’ plans for how their growth in crude oil volumes will be divided between volumes entering our system at the Edmonton and Hardisty crude oil hubs,” Stephen Wuori, president of liquids pipelines for Enbridge, said in a statement.
“The agreement with shippers on terms for the expansion … (ensures) that we provide the facilities and services they need to maximize the value of their crude oil.”
The new line is part of a $12-billion plan to expand Enbridge’s North American pipeline and terminal network primarily to support broadening access of oilsands production to U.S. refining markets.
Enbridge anticipates filing an application with the National Energy Board by the end of the year, with construction beginning in early 2014. The company said representatives will be consulting with interested parties and First Nations communities along the right-of-way to seek their input and to provide updates on the project.
Enbridge’s regional oilsands infrastructure includes the Athabasca and Waupisoo pipeline systems, which currently connect six producing oilsands projects. That will increase to eight projects by 2014.
The new Edmonton to Hardisty line is needed as volumes of crude from the oilsands continues to increase, and will become part of Enbridge’s main line system, which heads for the Chicago area and from there takes a southwest track to Cushing, Okla., and then to Houston and the U.S. Gulf Coast refineries.
Competitors TransCanada and Kinder Morgan also operate export pipelines which leave from Hardisty and head south through the U.S.
Enbridge is Canada’s largest transporter of crude oil, with approximately 24,738 kilometres of crude pipeline, delivering on average more than 2.2 million barrels per day of crude oil and liquids. It also exports 65 per cent of western Canadian oil.
© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal