New Canada oil pipes will address tight space: NEB

Tag : current regulator

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Capacity is tight on Canada's crudeoil pipelines, but as much as C$23 billion ($22.8 billion) in newlines could be on the way to help supply current andas-yet-untapped markets, the country's energy regulator said onThursday.
The National Energy Board said new pipeline space is needed tohandle rising production from the oil sands and to give producersflexibility in where they can ship their crude.
In a report on the 45,000 km (27,960 miles) of oil and gaspipelines it regulates, the NEB said there was some rationing ofspace in 2007 on Enbridge Inc's (ENB.TO: Quote ) 1.9 million barrel a day system to the U.S. Midwest and beyond,and that the system ran at or near capacity in this year's firstquarter.
The industry will get some relief in November when Kinder MorganEnergy Partners (KMP.N: Quote ) is slated to have a 40,000 barrel a day expansion of its TransMountain system to the West Coast completed, the board said.
The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers estimated last weekthat the country's production could nearly double to 4.5 millionbarrels a day by 2020, as a host of new oil sands projects startup.
That has the oil industry considering new markets, such as the U.S.Gulf Coast, California and Asia.
Pipeline projects currently under development include Enbridge's450,000 barrel a day Alberta Clipper project to Superior,Wisconsin, from Hardisty, Alberta, and TransCanada Corp's (TRP.TO: Quote ) 590,000 barrel a day Keystone line to Southern Illinois andOklahoma from Alberta.
Keystone is scheduled to be in service late next year and AlbertaClipper in 2010.
Among longer-term proposals, TransCanada is considering a 750,000barrel a day pipeline to Texas as well as a 400,000 barrel a dayline to California. Continued...