By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Jan. 12 -- A section of Line 2 on the Enbridge Lakehead Pipeline system—the largest transporter of crude from western Canada to the US Midwest—is down for repairs, but workers have redirected the crude volume to parallel pipelines with excess capacity on the Enbridge mainline.
Line 2, with a 440,000 b/d capacity, was shut down shortly before midnight Jan. 8 after a leak was detected by the pipeline control center. It spilled 3,000 bbl of light crude in Pembina County, ND. “The leak is contained within the Enbridge right-of-way, and no water or wildlife have been affected,” the company said.
Enbridge employees and contractors were cleaning up the spill over the weekend. The cause of the leak is under investigation.
“We’ve continued to move volumes around the Cromer, Manitoba, to Clearbrook, Minn., section of Line 2b that is down for repairs. Line 2b is operating from Clearbrook to its terminal point in Superior, Wis., and Line 2A is operating from Edmonton to Cromer,” a spokesman for Enbridge Energy Partners LP told OGJ.
The system's deliveries to refining centers and connected carriers in the US account for 11% of total US oil imports; while deliveries to Ontario supply 60% of refinery demand in that region.
The Canadian portion is owned by Enbridge Energy Co. Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Calgary-based Enbridge Inc., while the US portion is owned by the limited partnership.
