Enbridge to expand Athabasca pipeline

Enbridge Inc. has announced that it will be undertaking an expansion of its Athabasca Pipeline to accommodate recent shipping commitments by the Christina Lake oilsands project operated by Cenovus. The estimated cost of the project is approximately US$ 185 million. The Athabasca Pipeline transports crude oil from various oilsands projects to the mainline hub at Hardisty, Alberta. Following this expansion, which is expected to be in service in the third quarter of 2013, the capacity of the Athabasca Pipeline will be 430,000 bpd, depending on crude slate.

"We are pleased with this further expansion of our oilsands regional infrastructure to meet the needs of the Christina Lake project. Our strong existing asset base will continue to provide us with attractive investment opportunities to support growth from existing oilsands customers," said Stephen J. Wuori, Executive Vice-President, Liquids Pipelines, Enbridge Inc. "The Athabasca Pipeline can be expanded to as much as 570,000 bpd. Depending on the needs of other shippers we may revise the scope of this expansion upward prior to regulatory filing. Such additional capacity would be available in the third quarter of 2014."

Since mid-2009, Enbridge has announced approximately US$ 1.8 billion in commercially secured projects to expand and extend its regional oilsands system. Enbridge's regional oilsands infrastructure includes the Athabasca and Waupisoo pipeline systems, connecting six producing oilsands projects.

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