Enbridge gets approval to expand oil pipeline
Apr 16, 2008 04:30 AM
Enbridge Inc., Canada's largest pipeline company, has received regulatory approval to expand an existing oil pipeline in Alberta to reduce the chance of a bottleneck as tar-sands output rises.
The expansion's capacity will be 880,000 barrels a day, Canada's National Energy Board said yesterday in a written decision on the agency's website. Attached to the approval were 15 conditions, including a requirement to file an environmental protection plan before starting work.
The Calgary-based company plans to spend $310 million to build about 138 kilometres) of new pipeline in central Alberta to Edmonton from Hardisty, according to the agency.
Rising oil prices, which reached a record again yesterday near $114 (U.S.) a barrel in New York, are encouraging companies to spend billions on developments to extract huge amounts of crude from Alberta's tar sands.
