by Enbridge Inc.
Enbridge Inc. announced Wednesday that construction has commenced on the Canadian portion of the Alberta Clipper Expansion Project.
Initial mainline construction activity started near Hardisty and Provost, Alberta and near Bethune, Saskatchewan. In addition, facility construction has commenced at Hardisty, Milden, Saskatchewan and Cromer, Manitoba. With heavy construction equipment now mobilized, the company looks forward to steady progress, enabled in part by the benefits of working on a well-established Enbridge right-of-way corridor.
"The start of construction confirms another significant step for Enbridge in ensuring our customers have a strategic advantage for marketing Canadian crude," said Al Monaco, Executive Vice President, Major Projects, Enbridge Inc. "The Alberta Clipper pipeline is the largest expansion project in Enbridge's history and demonstrates our commitment to accelerating energy delivery throughout North America. Together with our Southern Access project, Alberta Clipper will ultimately deliver an incremental 1.2 million barrels-per-day from Alberta to Eastern Canadian markets and U.S. refineries throughout the Midwest, the mid-continent and the U.S. Gulf Coast."
Alberta Clipper involves the construction of a new 36-inch diameter, 1,607-kilometer (1,000-mile) crude oil pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin. Pending U.S. regulatory approvals the pipeline is scheduled to be in service in mid-2010. The pipeline will have an initial capacity of 450,000 barrels-per-day (bpd) and allow for expansions to increase capacity up to 800,000 bpd. Alberta Clipper will be integrated with, and form part of, the existing Enbridge system in Canada and the Enbridge Energy Partners' Lakehead system in the United States.
Enbridge Inc., a Canadian company, is a leader in energy transportation and distribution in North America and internationally. As a transporter of energy, Enbridge operates, in Canada and the U.S., the world's longest crude oil and liquids transportation system. The Company also has international operations and a growing involvement in the natural gas transmission and midstream businesses. As a distributor of energy, Enbridge owns and operates Canada's largest natural gas distribution company, and provides distribution services in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State. Enbridge employs approximately 5,500 people, primarily in Canada, the U.S. and South America.
