Enbridge Makes Deal to Store Oil in Mainline Pipeline as Oil Glut Grows
05.11.2020 By Greta Talmaci - NEWS

May 11, 2020 [CBC] – Enbridge Inc. said on Monday the Canadian pipeline operator has reached a deal with shippers to temporarily store crude oil in North America’s largest oil pipeline network from June 1 and is working with governments to provide additional capacity.

 
Oil companies have been slashing costs and cutting production due to a crash in crude prices and slumping fuel demand due to global restrictions to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic. This has stoked fears that global storage levels are fast approaching capacity.

“Given the impacts of the pandemic and the collapse in crude oil prices, demand for incremental crude petroleum storage throughout North America and even more urgently in Western Canada is high,” the company said in a May 1 filing with the Canadian Energy Regulator.

The Mainline, Canada’s longest oil pipeline system, has capacity for nearly three million barrels per day, moving western Canadian oil to U.S. refiners.

Enbridge last month said it would not ration capacity for May on the network, a sharp reversal from restrictions that have dogged Canadian producers for years.

The company is offering about 900,000 barrels of storage, equivalent to about four standard-sized tanks, for an eight-month term, a spokesperson said. It would use an older portion of its Line 3 pipeline in Canada before the line is decommissioned next year.

Enbridge is also working with provincial and the Canadian federal governments “to support producers’ goal of more storage,” spokesperson Tracie Kenyon said in an email, without providing details.

“This temporary storage, along with the further maintenance optimizations to our storage tank program will create more than two million barrels of additional storage capacity for 2020,” she said.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has repeatedly warned that storage levels are in danger of reaching capacity.

Cuts to Alberta’s oil production have been large enough to avoid filling storage completely but levels could still spike to tank-top capacity of 43 million barrels, Canadian producer Cenovus Energy Inc said last week.

————-

Click Here to Access Today a 4,900 Tank Terminal Database With a Pro Trial
Click on the button and register to get instant access to actionable tank storage industry data

TC Energy Completes Spinoff of Liquids Pipeline Firm South Bow
10.04.2024 - NEWS
October 04, 2024 [Rigzone]- TC Energy Corporation has completed the spinoff of its Liquids Pipeli... Read More
The Benefits of API 650 Standards in Ensuring Tank Integrity and Safety
10.04.2024 - NEWS
October 04, 2024 [Big News Network]- In industries dealing with hazardous substances, the integri... Read More
Warren Buffett is Buying This Magnificent Oil Stock
10.04.2024 - NEWS
October 04, 2024 [Nasdaq]- Warren Buffett finally did it. After making a monster investment in A... Read More
China’s Cracker Expansion to Drive LPG Storage Growth
10.04.2024 - NEWS
October 04, 2024 [Argus Media]- China’s LPG storage capacity is expected to expand again in... Read More