By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Oct. 7 -- Enbridge Energy Partners LP reported Monday plans to develop a new crude oil pipeline from its existing terminal at Superior, Wis., south to the Wood River hub in southern Illinois. The new 630 mile line will form part of the Lakehead Pipeline System owned by the partnership.
The $550-650 million pipeline, which will be either 24-in. or 30-in., will have an initial capacity of 250,000 b/d of oil, Enbridge said. It will interconnect with the Spearhead Pipeline Project being developed by Enbridge Inc., which will permit shippers on the line to access any one of the market hubs at Chicago, Wood River, or Cushing.
The line is expected to be in service in 2007, depending on the speed of shipper and public consultation, detailed route determination, environmental reviews, and regulatory approvals, Enbridge said.
"The new pipeline will provide increased capacity on the Lakehead System to accommodate growing production from the Alberta oil sands. Tolls will be integrated with the rest of the Lakehead System and will provide for a full recovery of the incremental cost of service of the line, including a return on the capital invested," Enbridge reported.
"The line and Enbridge's Spearhead Pipeline are both facets of a broader. . .strategy to provide improved access to growing Canadian crude oil supplies for US refiners in the Midwest, Midcontinent, and potentially as far as the Gulf Coast," Enbridge said.
OGJ reported Alberta's oil sands as holding about 175 billion bbl of crude oil reserves.
"The proposed Southern Access Pipeline represents a concrete step in furthering continental security of energy supply. Refineries and their customers in the US Midwest and Midcontinent will benefit from improved access to secure, reliable and growing supplies of crude oil from the Alberta oil sands," said Dan C. Tutcher, president of the partnership's management company and general partner.