Enbridge is proposing its pipeline expansions in order to increase access to Alberta's vast oil sands. Canada's oil sands are a huge world-scale resource, consisting of 1.7 to 2.5 trillion barrels of heavy petroleum, with billions of barrels considered recoverable using today's production technologies. In fact,
the oil reserves contained in the oil sands of Alberta are second only to those of Saudi Arabia.
While oil production from most of North America's traditional crude petroleum production regions are declining, Alberta's oil sands are being developed at an unprecedented pace, propelling an upswing in western Canadian crude petroleum production that will continue for many years to come.
The challenge is moving these growing supplies from areas of northern Alberta to refineries that serve population centers in the United States. Enbridge is uniquely positioned to meet this need with a long-distance pipeline system that delivers crude petroleum to customers in a timely, economical and flexible manner.
The proposed expansion projects will take advantage of this existing 3,500 miles of pipeline and break-out storage infrastructure to increase the capacity and expand the reach of the system to better serve the major refining centers.
More information about oil sands (PDF)
|
With the growing demand for Canadian oil, oil pipeline expansions and refinery upgrades spur economic activity, and these expansions have created thousands of construction jobs in the Midwest.
|
|
Midwestern manufacturers, such as Caterpillar of Peoria, Ill. and Milwaukee-based P&H Mining, also benefit through increased demand for their products and specialized heavy equipment that is used extensively in the oil sands region.
|