Enbridge said it is still eyeing a 2017 start date for the largest pipeline project in company history as oral testimony began in Canada Monday over the Line 3 replacement project.
Two weeks of testimony from the First Nations to Canada's National Energy Board kicked off in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and will shift to Calgary, Alberta, next week. Enbridge will be allowed to formally respond to any of the testimony before the board on the final hearing day, December 11.
The $7.5 billion replacement project will expand the capacity of Line 3 of the company's Canadian Mainline system, which runs from Edmonton, Alberta, to Superior, Minnesota, by fully replacing 1,031 miles of pipeline. Line 3 had been operating at about 390,000 b/d since 2010, but the original capacity of the line is 760,000 b/d, which is the volume Enbridge wants to return to once the line is replaced. The line primarily ships light sweet crude from the Alberta oil sands.
Enbridge spokesman Todd Nogier said in an email Monday that the anticipated in-service date of the replaced Line 3 is the end of 2017. The project needs approval from the NEB and the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
"The Line 3 Replacement Program is not strictly about expansion, but rather part of our ongoing pipeline maintenance," Nogier said. "The Line 3 has been operating at approximately 390,000 barrels a day since 2010 as part of certain measures to ensure the ongoing safe, reliable operation of the line. This measure was voluntary and proactive and in line with Enbridge's highest priority of safe and reliable operations."
Enbridge submitted its application for the project in November 2014 and has attracted concerns from Native Americans, environmentalists and others as pipeline projects have grown more politically toxic in North America. The Onion Lake Cree Nation, for example, in written comment to the NEB, expressed concerns that pipeline spills could harm fish and other wildlife. Others, such as the Ochapowace Nation and Moosomin First Nation, have expressed written support for the pipeline.
Nogier said Enbridge is committed to ongoing, meaningful engagement with the First Nations.
"Enbridge has a very rigorous Aboriginal engagement program, which has resulted in engagement with 150 groups and communities in the past two years -- some from as far as 200 km from the Line 3 right of way," he said.