May 08, 2013 [Reuters] - Enbridge Inc, Canada's largest pipeline operator, said on Tuesday it will spend C$300 million ($299 million) on infrastructure to handle expanded production from the Surmont oil sands project owned by ConocoPhillips and French oil major Total SA.
Enbridge will build two 450,000 barrel storage tanks to be used for blending tar-like bitumen with diluent so that it can flow on pipeline and convert an existing tank to store diluent.
It will also install the equipment needed to connect the Surmont project to Enbridge’s Waupisoo pipeline system, which carries oil sands crudes to Edmonton, Alberta. The work is expected to be complete by the first quarter of 2015.
Conoco and Total are expanding their Surmont joint venture to produce 136,000 barrels per day from its initial 27,000 bpd phase. The project, 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of Fort McMurray, Alberta, is scheduled to start up in 2015.
