The Wood Buffalo Pipeline
Enbridge has entered into an agreement with Suncor Energy to construct the 95 km, 30 inch diameter Wood Buffalo Pipeline in Alberta.
The pipeline will connect Enbridge’s Athabasca Terminal – situated adjacent to Suncor’s oil sands plant – to the Cheecham Terminal, the origin point of Enbridge’s Waupisoo Pipeline, which delivers crude oil from several oil sands projects to the Edmonton mainline hub.
The new pipeline will parallel Enbridge’s existing Athabasca Pipeline between the Athabasca and Cheecham terminals.
An application has been filed with the Alberta Energy Resources and Conservation Board and is pending regulatory approval.
Tenders for the construction of the pipeline are expected to be announced early 2011, and subject to obtaining regulatory approval, right-of-way (RoW) clearing and crossings construction is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2011 with construction of the pipeline expected to begin in mid-2012. The pipeline’s planned in-service date is mid-2013.
Norealis Pipeline
Enbridge will construct a 112 km, 24 inch diameter pipeline from Hartley to the company’s Cheecham Terminal as part of Husky’s Sunrise Oil Sands Project, located in Alberta.
Under the contract Enbridge will also construct a new originating terminal at Hartley, additional tankage at Cheecham, and provide additional pipeline transportation services on its existing Regional Oil Sands System for up to 90,000 bbl/d of diluted bitumen produced from Phase 1 of the Sunrise project.
The estimated cost of the project is approximately $US475 million with an initial capacity of 90,000 bbl/d, expandable to 270,000 bbl/d.
Subject to obtaining regulatory approval, RoW clearing is expected to begin in late 2011/early 2012. Pipeline construction is planned to begin in July 2012, starting with the Clearwater River crossing. The facilities are expected to be in-service in the latter half of 2013.
Pre-qualification for the pump station and terminal facilities tenders will start in June 2011, as will pre-qualification for the pipeline construction tender, with the tender of the pipeline construction to occur in September 2011.
Bakken Expansion Programme
Enbridge has launched a binding open season to solicit additional shipper interest in the Bakken Expansion Programme – a series of projects to expand crude oil pipeline capacity in North Dakota, USA, and Saskatchewan, Canada, to meet the crude oil transportation needs of Williston Basin producers.
In North Dakota Enbridge has proposed the Beaver Lodge Loop Project, which will involve the construction of a 72 km, 12 or 16 inch diameter looping pipeline along the existing Enbridge North Dakota System from the existing Beaver Lodge Station near Tioga to Berthold. The looping pipeline is expected to increase the capacity along the 72 km segment to approximately 315,000 bbl/d of oil. Tankage and new pump stations will also be constructed and the pipeline project will be undertaken by Enbridge Pipelines (North Dakota) LLC a subsidiary of Enbridge Energy Partners. The project is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2013.
The South of the River Truck Injection (SORTI) and Dunn projects will consist of the construction of a new 8 or 10 inch gathering pipeline system to expand the Enbridge North Dakota System, starting approximately 72 km south of its Beaver Lodge Station. The project also consists of two new stations and the associated work to prepare for two new truck facilities.
The proposed expansion of Line 26/EX-02, including added facilities in North Dakota, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, will include an expansion of the US portion of the Portal Link (Line 26) by EEP, and the construction of two new pumping stations and enhancements of the pipeline north of Berthold. It is expected that the project will begin construction in mid-2011 and be operational by early 2013.
The Canadian portion of the Portal Link (Line EX-02) will be extended with the construction of a new 121 km, 16inch diameter pipeline from Steelman, Saskatchewan, to the Enbridge terminal at Cromer, Manitoba. Enbridge said that it is anticipated that the Canadian section of the project will begin construction mid-2012 and be completed and in-service in early 2013.
Tenders for both the US and Canadian portions of the project are expected to be announced between the second quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012.
