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Enbridge Inc. is a multinational pipeline and energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Enbridge owns and operates pipelines throughout Canada and the United States, transporting crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids, and also generates renewable energy. Enbridge's pipeline system is the longest in North America and the largest oil export pipeline network in the world.[2] Its crude oil system consists of 28,661 kilometres (17,809 miles) of pipelines.[3][4] Its 38,300 kilometre (23,800 mile) natural gas pipeline system connects multiple Canadian provinces, several US states, and the Gulf of Mexico.[5] The company was formed by Imperial Oil in 1949 as the Interprovincial Pipe Line Company Limited to transport Alberta oil to refineries. Over time, it has grown through acquisition of other existing pipeline companies and the expansion of their projects.
The company was initially incorporated by Imperial Oil as Interprovincial Pipe Line Company (IPL) on April 30, 1949, after Canada's first major oil discovery, in 1947, at Leduc, Alberta.[6][7][8] In the same year, the company built its first oil pipeline from Leduc to Regina, Saskatchewan.[6][8] In 1950, it was expanded through Gretna, Manitoba, to Superior, Wisconsin, in the United States.[6] To operate the United States portion of the pipeline, the Lakehead Pipe Line Company (now Enbridge Energy Partners) was created. In 1953, the pipeline was expanded to Sarnia, Ontario, and in 1956 to Toronto and Buffalo, New York.[6]
In 1953, IPL was listed on the Toronto and Montreal stock exchanges.[6] In 1983, IPL built the Norman Wells pipeline and joined Frontier Pipeline Company.[6] In 1986, through a series of stakes exchanges, IPL gained control of Home Oil and in 1988, it changed its name to Interhome Energy Inc.[6][9] In 1991, it changed its name to Interprovincial Pipe Line Inc.[9]
In 1992, Interprovincial Pipe Line Inc. was acquired by Interprovincial Pipe Line System Inc., which changed its name to IPL Energy Inc. in 1994, after the acquisition of Consumers' Gas (now Enbridge Gas Inc.) and diversification into the gas distribution business.[6][9] In addition, it acquired stakes in AltaGas Services and the electric utility of Cornwall, Ontario.[6] Through the 1990s, the company expanded its gas pipeline network and acquired a stake in the Chicap oil pipeline. It also built the Athabasca Pipeline from northeastern Alberta to the main pipeline system.[6] In 1995, the company expanded its activities outside of North America by taking a stake in the Ocensa pipeline. This stake was sold in 2009.[10] IPL Energy became Enbridge Inc in 1998.[9] The Enbridge name is a portmanteau from "energy" and "bridge".[6]
In the 2000s, Enbridge introduced several large projects. Enbridge made their first investment into renewable energy in 2002 with the purchase of a wind farm.[11][12] In 2006, it announced the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines Project from Athabasca to Kitimat, British Columbia.[13] The same year, it announced the Alberta Clipper pipeline project from Hardisty, Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin, to connect oil sands production area with the existing network. This pipeline became operational in 2010.[14]
In January 2017, Enbridge acquired Midcoast Energy Partners for $170 million in cash, and later in 2018, ArcLight acquired Midcoast Operating, L.P. from Enbridge for $1.1 billion.[17][18]
Enbridge released its first annual sustainability report in 2001, and in November 2020, Enbridge expanded its environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals and targets.[19][20] The company aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with an interim target to reduce emissions intensity by 35% by 2030.[21] That same year, President and CEO Al Monaco said that renewable power is now "the fourth Enbridge platform."[22] Enbridge's ESG goals also aim to diversify its workforce with 28% representation from racial and ethnic groups and 40% from women by 2025.[23]
In 2021, Enbridge was recognized as one of Canada's top 100 employers for the 18th time, and as one of Canada's best diversity employers for the seventh time.[24]
In September 2023, it was announced Enbridge had agreed to acquire East Ohio Gas, Questar Gas, and Public Service Co. of North Carolina, from Dominion Energy for a total enterprise value worth $14 billion.[25][26] The acquisition will result in Enbridge being the largest natural gas utility franchise in North America.[27]
The company is the largest transporter of crude oil in Canada with 3 million barrels per day of oil and liquids.[8] The Enbridge Pipeline System is the world's longest crude oil and liquids pipeline system, with 27,564km (17,127mi) of active crude pipeline in both Canada and the United States.[32] This pipeline network delivers 3 million barrels of oil per day.[33]
Enbridge delivered more than 3.77 billion barrels of crude oil in 2020, and more than 29.5 billion barrels over the past decade, from 2011 through 2020 inclusive.[34]
Enbridge has several new capacities and expansion projects, including the expansion of the Alberta Clipper, replacing of Line 6B, reversal of Line 9 and others.[35] Its Light Oil Market Access initiative is a project to deliver light crude oil from North Dakota and Western Canada to refineries in Ontario, Quebec, and the U.S. Midwest. Eastern Access, including a reversal of Line 9, is a project to deliver oil to Western Canada and Bakken to refineries in Eastern Canada and the midwest and eastern U.S.[35][36] Western Gulf Coast Access, including reversal and expansion of the Seaway Pipeline and the Flanagan South Pipeline, is a plan to connect Canadian heavy oil supply to refineries along the Gulf Coast of the United States.[37][38]
Enbridge's oil pipelines cross North America, with 13,833km (8,672mi) of active pipe in the United States and 13,681km (8500mi) of active pipe in Canada.[34] The list below outlines eight of those lines.
Line 1 is a 1,767km (1,098mi) pipeline that starts in Enbridge's Edmonton Terminal in Alberta, and runs to its Superior Terminal in Wisconsin. On average, this pipeline delivers 237,000 barrels of light crude, natural gas liquids, and refined products daily.[39]
Line 2A is a 966km (600mi) pipeline that runs from an Enbridge terminal in Edmonton, Alberta, to its Cromer Terminal in Manitoba. On average, per day this pipeline carries 442,000 barrels of condensates, light crude, and heavy crude. Line 2B is an 808km (502mi) pipeline that runs from the same Cromer Terminal to the Superior Terminal in Wisconsin. That pipeline delivers on average 442,000 barrels of light crude oil per day.[40]
Line 3 is a 1,769km (1,099mi) pipeline that runs from the Edmonton terminal to the Superior Terminal. Over half (1,070km) of the pipeline is located in Canada, between Alberta and Manitoba. Per day, the pipeline transports an average of 390,000 barrels of light, medium and heavy crude oil.[40]
Line 4 is a 1,722km (1,101mi) crude oil pipeline starting at the Edmonton terminal to the Superior terminal. This pipeline carries, on average, 390,000 barrels of light, medium and heavy crude oil per day.[40]
Line 5 is a 1,038km (645mi) crude oil pipeline running from the Superior terminal in Wisconsin to Sarnia, Ontario. On average, this pipeline moves 540,000 barrels of natural gas liquids and light crude oil per day.[40]
Alberta clipper Pipeline (Line 67) is a 1,790km (1,112mi) pipeline that runs from Hardisty, Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin. An average of 800,000 barrels of heavy crude oil is moved through this pipeline per day.[40]
Southern Lights Pipeline (Line 13) is a 2,560km (1,591mi) pipeline that runs from Manhattan, Illinois to the Edmonton terminal. This pipeline carries on average, 180,000 barrels of diluent per day.[40]
Natural gas pipelines
Enbridge gas meters
Enbridge's pipelines transport 20% of the natural gas consumed in the United States. It owns and operates Canada's largest natural gas distribution network, providing distribution services in Ontario and Quebec.[41] Union Gas in Ontario now fully operates under Enbridge Gas Inc. In Quebec, Enbridge has interest ownership in Gazifère.[42]
Enbridge builds, owns and operates a network of natural gas transmission pipelines across North America, connecting the continent's prolific natural gas supply to major markets in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and further abroad.[43]
Enbridge's natural gas network currently covers 38,375km (23,850mi) across five Canadian provinces, 30 U.S. states, and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, transporting roughly 16.2 Bcf (billions of cubic feet per day) of natural gas.[44]
Canadian gas transmission: major assets
B.C. Pipeline (2.9 Bcf/d): this pipeline system runs from Fort Nelson in northeastern British Columbia to the U.S. border at Huntington-Sumas stretching 2,858km (1,776mi). It transports 60 percent of all natural gas produced in B.C., and provides natural gas service to the province as well as US states including Oregon, Idaho, and Washington.[5]
Alliance Pipeline (1.6bcf/d): running 3,848km (2,391mi) from northern British Columbia across the U.S.-Canada border to Aux Sable gas processing plant in Channahon, Illinois. Enbridge owns 50 percent of the Alliance Pipeline and 42% of the Aux Sable processing facility.[45][46][47]
U.S. gas transmission: major assets
Algonquin Gas Transmission (3.12 Bcf/d): this pipeline is 1,129 miles long, and transports natural gas to markets in New York, New Jersey, and New England.[48]
East Tennessee (1.86 Bcf/d): a natural gas pipeline 1,526 miles long, extending from Tennessee to the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states, ending in Virginia.[49]
Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline: this pipeline was constructed to bring natural gas produced in Atlantic Canada through to other Canadian provinces (Nova Scotia and New Brunswick), and into U.S. states (Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts).[50][51]
NEXUS Gas Transmission: measuring 257 miles long, this pipeline supplies natural gas markets in the U.S. Midwest and the Dawn Hub in Ontario. This is a 50/50 joint partnership between Enbridge and DTE Energy.[52]
Sabal Trail: carries natural gas via a 287-mile pipeline to the U.S. Southeast. This is a joint partnership between Enbridge, NextEra Energy and Duke Energy.[53]
Southeast Supply Header (SESH) (1.09 Bcf/d): a natural gas pipeline 287 miles in length, connecting gas supply in Texas and Louisiana to other natural gas markets in the Southeast US.[54]
Texas Eastern (11.69 Bcf/d): delivers natural gas from Texas and the Gulf Coast through 8.83 miles of pipeline to markets in the Northeastern UW including New York, Boston, and Pittsburgh.[55]
Valley Crossing Pipeline (2.6 Bcf/d): placed into service in November 2018, this pipeline moves Texas sourced natural gas to a Mexico State-owned power utility, the Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE).[56]
Vector Pipeline: this pipeline acts as a connector for other pipelines including the Alliance pipeline and NEXUS Gas Transmission to the Union Gas Dawn Hub.[57]
DCP Midstream
DCP Midstream is a joint venture between Enbridge and Phillips 66. Phillips 66 is one of the largest petroleum services companies in the US, owning and operating 39 natural gas plants and 51,000 miles of gathering pipe.[58] Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, DCP operates a portfolio of natural gas gathering, logistics, marketing and processing services across nine states.[59]
Renewable energy generation
Neal Hot Springs geothermal plant
Enbridge made its first investment into renewable energy in 2002 with the purchase of a wind farm.[60][61] To date Enbridge has invested in 23 wind farms, 7 solar energy projects, 5 waste heat recovery facilities, 1 geothermal project, 1 power transmission project and 1 hydroelectric facility.[62]
Enbridge has a growing interest in European offshore wind energy, and its renewable assets are part of the company's plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.[63][64]
In 2020, President and CEO Al Monaco said that renewable power is now "the fourth Enbridge platform."[22]
In February, 2020, Enbridge sold its shares of Montana-Alberta Tie-Line (MATL) to Berkshire Hathaway Energy. The MATL project is a 300-megawatt (MW), 230-kilovolt (kV) electrical transmission line allowing movement of power between Alberta and Montana. The MATL project, which was placed in service the fall of 2013, supports ongoing development of a rich wind-powered generation resource and allows electrical energy to flow in both directions. The transmission line is 210 miles (345km) long and runs between the Lethbridge, Alberta area and the Great Falls, Montana area. Roughly one third of the line is in Canada and two thirds in the U.S.[66][67]
Natural gas utility
Enbridge Gas Inc. was formed on January 1, 2019, with the combination of Enbridge Gas Distribution and Union Gas.[68] Its network consists of 5,471km of gas transmission lines, 66,787km of gas distribution service lines, and 78,214km of gas distribution main lines.[69]
They deliver to over 15 million people in Ontario and Quebec through 3.8 million residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional meter connections and distribute roughly 2.3 bcf/d of natural gas.[70] Additionally, in southwestern Ontario they have the largest integrated underground storage facility in Canada, and one of North America's top natural gas trading hubs.[71]
Enbridge's natural gas distribution also includes interest ownership in two additional natural gas distributors. This includes Gazfiére, serving people in Outaouais region of Quebec,[72] and Ènergir LP, a company that operates gas transmission, gas distribution, and power distribution throughout Quebec and Vermont.[42]
In September 2023, Enbridge agreed to acquire three natural gas utility companies from Dominion Energy for $14 billion. The companies include the East Ohio Gas Company, Questar Gas Company, and the Public Service Company of North Carolina. These companies serve 3 million customers in the states of Ohio, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and North Carolina. Upon completion of the acquisition, Enbridge Gas Inc. will become the largest natural gas utility in North America supplying 9 bcf/d to 7 million customers.[73][74]
Using data from Enbridge's own reports, the Polaris Institute calculated that 804 spills occurred on Enbridge pipelines between 1999 and 2010. These spills released approximately 161,475 barrels (25,672.5m3) of crude oil into the environment.[76]
On July 4, 2002, an Enbridge pipeline ruptured in a marsh near the town of Cohasset, Minnesota, in Itasca County, spilling 6,000 barrels (950m3) of crude oil. In an attempt to keep the oil from contaminating the Mississippi River, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources set a controlled burn that lasted for one day and created a smoke plume about 1-mile (1.6km) high and 5 miles (8.0km) long.[77]
In 2006, there were 67 reportable spills totaling 5,663 barrels (900.3m3) on Enbridge's energy and transportation and distribution system; in 2007 there were 65 reportable spills totalling 13,777 barrels (2,190.4m3).[78] On March 18, 2006, approximately 613 barrels (97.5m3) of crude oil were released when a pump failed at Enbridge's Willmar terminal in Saskatchewan.[79] According to Enbridge, roughly half the oil was recovered.
On January 1, 2007, an Enbridge pipeline that runs from Superior, Wisconsin to near Whitewater, Wisconsin cracked open and spilled ~50,000 US gallons (190m3) of crude oil onto farmland and into a drainage ditch.[80] The same pipeline was struck by construction crews on February 2, 2007, in Rusk County, Wisconsin, spilling ~201,000 US gallons (760m3) of crude, of which about 87,000U.S.gal (330m3) were recovered. Some of the oil filled a hole more than 20 feet (6.1m) deep and contaminated the local water table.[81][82]
In April 2007, roughly 6,227 barrels (990.0m3) of crude oil spilled into a field downstream of an Enbridge pumping station near Glenavon, Saskatchewan.[79]
In January 2009, an Enbridge pipeline leaked about 4,000 barrels (640m3) of oil southeast of Fort McMurray at the company's Cheecham Terminal tank farm. Most of the spilled oil was contained within berms but about 1% of the oil, about 40 barrels (6.4m3), sprayed into the air and coated nearby snow and trees.[83]
On January 2, 2010, Enbridge's Line2 ruptured near Neche, North Dakota, releasing about 3,784 barrels of crude oil, of which 2,237 barrels (355.7m3) was recovered.[82][84] In April 2010, an Enbridge pipeline ruptured spilling more than 9.5 barrels (1.51m3) of oil in Virden, Manitoba. This oil leaked into the Boghill Creek, which eventually connects to the Assiniboine River.[85]
The 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill resulted in over 1,000,000 US gallons (3,800m) of oil leaking into Talmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo River
In the July 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill, a leaking pipeline spilled more than 1,000,000 US gallons (3,800m3) of oil sands crude oil into Talmadge Creek leading to the Kalamazoo River in southwest Michigan on July 26, near Marshall, Michigan.[86][87] A United States Environmental Protection Agency update of the Kalamazoo River spill concluded the pipeline rupture "caused the largest inland oil spill in Midwest history" and reported the cost of the cleanup at $36.7 million (US) as of November 14, 2011.[86] PHMSA raised concerns in a Corrective Action Order (CAO) about numerous anomalies that had been detected on this pipeline by internal line inspection tools, yet Enbridge had failed to check a number of those anomalies in the field.[88] The Michigan spill affected more than 31 miles (50km) of waterways and wetlands and about 320 people reported symptoms from crude oil exposure.[89] The National Transportation Safety Board said at $800million, it was the costliest onshore spill cleanup in U.S.history.[90] The NTSB found Enbridge knew of a defect in the pipeline five years before it burst.[91] In June 2013, a Kalamazoo man lodged himself into an Enbridge pipeline in Marshall, MI to protest Enbridge's lack of accountability for the 2010 spill and to encourage landowners along Enbridge's Line 6B expansion to offer increased resistance to construction in 2013.[92][93] In 2014, Enbridge completed cleanup of the river per the EPA's order.[94]
On September 9, 2010, a broken water line caused a rupture on Enbridge's Line 6A pipeline near Romeoville, Illinois, releasing an estimated 7,500 barrels (1,190m3) of oil into the surrounding area.[86][95]
On June 22, 2013, Enbridge subsidiary Athabasca pipelines reported a pipeline leak of approximately 750 barrels of light synthetic crude oil from Line 37 near Enbridge's Cheecham, Alberta, terminal about 70 kilometres (43mi) southeast of Fort McMurray. The 17-kilometre-long, 12-inch diameter pipe was constructed in 2006 and links the Long Lake oilsands upgrader to the Cheetham terminal as part of Enbridge's Athabasca system.[96] Unusually heavy rainfall in the region, also responsible for the 2013 Alberta floods, may have caused "ground movement on the right-of way that may have impacted the pipeline."[97] Enbridge's Athabasca (Line 19) shares a portion of right of way with Line 37 and Enbridge's Wood Buffalo/Waupisoo (Line 75/18), a major part of the network that serves Alberta's oilsands.[96] All three lines were closed down as a precautionary measure. Operations between Hardisty and Cheecham were restored on June 23 when Enbridge's Athabasca pipeline (Line 19) was restored to service.[97][unreliable source?]
On July 1, 2013, WWMT News in Michigan reported that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality had issued a citation against Enbridge for contamination of North Ore Creek by an Enbridge pipeline maintenance activity.[98]
On January 30, 2017, a road crew in Texas punctured the Seaway S-1 crude oil pipeline, which is jointly owned by Enterprise Products Partners and Enbridge through the joint venture Seaway Crude Pipeline Company. Two days later, it was unclear how much oil had spilled over the nearby Highway 121 northeast of Dallas. After the incident, supply concerns reportedly helped push "oil prices 2% higher in early trading to nearly $54 a barrel."[99]
In May 2012, West Coast First Nations members and supporters protested near Enbridge's Annual Shareholder's meeting, against the proposed Northern Gateway Project[102] and on May 31, 2012, the Vancouver Observer reported about 40 protesters outside the Canadian Oil and Gas Export Summit, protesting the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway Project.[103]
On July 17, 2012, a group calling itself "We are the Kalamazoo" protested against Enbridge's response to the Kalamazoo spill and its plans to construct the line 6B pipeline. This protest was on the second anniversary of the Kalamazoo spill.[104]
On November 12, 2012, the Lansing State Journal reported that the head of the Line 6B Pipeline project stated that he had never seen as much organized landowner resistance despite 30 years in the pipeline industry. They noted that this was probably because of the 2010 Kalamazoo River spill.[105]
In May 2013, Hamilton area residents protested the reversal of flow in Line 9 and temporarily closed Ontario Highway 6.[106] Later that year, on June 6, 2013, a group called Hamilton 350 sent a letter of complaint to the Hamilton (Ontario) police service (HPS) for accepting over $44,000 in donations from Enbridge. The letter questions whether police officers would be impartial during any anti-Enbridge protests, given the donation.[107]
On June 26, 2013, Hamilton Police arrested at least 10 people who occupied an Enbridge compound for six days to protest the expansion of Enbridge's Line 9 and intent to ship diluted bitumen through the line.[108]
On July 22, 2013, a group of protesters locked themselves to equipment at an Enbridge pipeline construction site in Stockbridge, Michigan. Protesters stated that they had to take matters into their own hands given that state regulators were failing the public, "We felt that there was no other option."[109]
A September 16, 2013, "Inside Climate News" report by journalist David Hasemeyer describes how many Michigan landowners are concerned about the safety of new Enbridge pipeline being laid within a few feet of their homes, and the lack of regulations for how close a pipeline can be constructed to an existing home. The article quotes Richard Kuprewicz, President of an engineering consulting company and an adviser to Pipeline Hazardous Materials Administration: "Clearly the pipeline safety regulations aren't adequate in this area and the siting regulations aren't adequate," Kuprewicz said. "It's a bad combination."[110]
In September 2016, a group of Native Americans protested the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which Enbridge had announced plans to acquire a portion of in a $2 billion deal.[111]
In June 2021, Enbridge resumed construction on the Line 3 replacement project in Northern Minnesota after taking a brief planned break.[113] Enbridge's plans to expand its Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota along a new route have been met with prolonged resistance from Native communities and activists calling themselves water protectors.[114][115]
In January 2022, a group of about 400 met in front of a Bank of America location in Austin to protest Enbridge's plans to expand the Moda Ingleside Energy Center onto historic Karankawa land in Corpus Christi, Texas.[116][117]
In September, 2023, in a trial flawed by numerous protocol breaches on the part of the prosecution and local authorities,[118] Mylene Vialard was found guilty of felony obstruction. According to the article, Vialard was among more than a thousand arrests by Minnesota law enforcement – which along with other agencies received at least $8.6m in payments from Enbridge.
In 2024, the film Bad River was released. The film documented Enbridge's trespassing on the Bad River reservation with Line 5 and the local community's struggle to get the pipeline removed. It also covered how Enbridge attempted to influence the Bad River tribal elections.[119][120]
Technology and innovation
Enbridge has two Technology and Innovation labs. In January 2019, the first lab opened in Calgary, Alberta.[121] In April 2019, the second lab opened in Houston, Texas.[121] The labs use industrial predictive algorithms, machine learning, and sentiment analysis to find efficiencies within the company and help improve safety and reliability of their pipeline infrastructure.[122]
The labs have developed ways to get sensor data from pipelines, helping to improve flows of natural gas and crude oil terminals.[123] Additionally, the labs have helped enhance pipeline leak detection, and ensure better maintenance schedules.[123] For renewable energy projects, the labs have developed different ways to reposition wind turbine blades to help maximize wind power generation.[124][125]
Financials
Dollar amounts in millions of Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted, with the exception of employee numbers. Additionally, earnings are after income tax and unadjusted. Employee count is approximate and includes both permanent and temporary employees.
The Athabasca oil sands, also known as the Athabasca tar sands, are large deposits of bitumen, a heavy and viscous form of petroleum, in northeastern Alberta, Canada. These reserves are one of the largest sources of unconventional oil in the world, making Canada a significant player in the global energy market.
TC Energy Corporation is a major North American energy company, based in the TC Energy Tower building in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, that develops and operates energy infrastructure in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. The company operates three core businesses: Natural Gas Pipelines, Liquids Pipelines and Energy.
The Enbridge Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system which transports crude oil and dilbit from Canada to the United States. The system exceeds 5,000 kilometres (3,100 mi) in length including multiple paths. More than 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) of the system is in the United States while the rest is in Canada and serves the Athabasca oil sands production facilities. Main parts of the system are 2,306-kilometre-long (1,433 mi) Canadian Mainline and 3,057-kilometre-long (1,900 mi) Lakehead System. On average, it delivers 1.4 million barrels per day of crude oil and other products to the major oil refineries in the American Midwest and the Canadian province of Ontario. The Canadian portion is owned by Enbridge, while the U.S. portion is partly owned by that company through Enbridge Energy Partners, LP, formerly known as Lakehead Pipe Line Partners and Lakehead Pipe Line Company.
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. is a master limited partnership engaged in pipeline transport, marketing, and storage of liquefied petroleum gas and petroleum in the United States and Canada. Plains owns interests in 18,370 miles (29,560 km) of pipelines, storage capacity for about 75 million barrels of crude oil, 28 million barrels of NGLs, 68 billion cubic feet of natural gas, and 5 natural gas processing plants. The company is headquartered in the Allen Center in Downtown Houston, Texas. Plains is a publicly traded Master limited partnership. PAA owns an extensive network of pipeline transportation, terminalling, storage and gathering assets in key crude oil and NGL producing basins and transportation corridors at major market hubs in the United States and Canada.
Petroleum production in Canada is a major industry which is important to the overall economy of North America. Canada has the third largest oil reserves in the world and is the world's fourth largest oil producer and fourth largest oil exporter. In 2019 it produced an average of 750,000 cubic metres per day (4.7 Mbbl/d) of crude oil and equivalent. Of that amount, 64% was upgraded from unconventional oil sands, and the remainder light crude oil, heavy crude oil and natural-gas condensate. Most of the Canadian petroleum production is exported, approximately 600,000 cubic metres per day (3.8 Mbbl/d) in 2019, with 98% of the exports going to the United States. Canada is by far the largest single source of oil imports to the United States, providing 43% of US crude oil imports in 2015.
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is an American midstream natural gas and crude oil pipeline company with headquarters in Houston, Texas. It acquired GulfTerra in September 2004. The company ranked No. 105 in the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue. Dan Duncan was the majority owner until his death in 2010.
Dilbit is a bitumen diluted with one or more lighter petroleum products, typically natural-gas condensates such as naphtha. Diluting bitumen makes it much easier to transport, for example in pipelines. Per the Alberta Oil Sands Bitumen Valuation Methodology, "Dilbit Blends" means "Blends made from heavy crudes and/or bitumens and a diluent, usually natural-gas condensate, for the purpose of meeting pipeline viscosity and density specifications, where the density of the diluent included in the blend is less than 800 kg/m3." If the diluent density is greater than or equal to 800 kg/m3, the diluent is typically synthetic crude and accordingly the blend is called synbit.
The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy and, as of March 2020, the Government of Alberta. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta to refineries in Illinois and Texas, and also to oil tank farms and an oil pipeline distribution center in Cushing, Oklahoma.
Although there are numerous oil companies operating in Canada, as of 2009, the majority of production, refining and marketing was done by fewer than 20 of them. According to the 2013 edition of Forbes Global 2000, canoils.com and any other list that emphasizes market capitalization and revenue when sizing up companies, as of March 31, 2014 these are the largest Canada-based oil and gas companies.
The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines were a planned-but-never-built project for a twin pipeline from Bruderheim, Alberta, to Kitimat, British Columbia. The project was active from the mid-2000s to 2016. The eastbound pipeline would have imported natural gas condensate, and the westbound pipeline would have exported diluted bitumen from the Athabasca oil sands to a marine terminal in Kitimat for transportation to Asian markets via oil tankers. The project would have also included terminal facilities with "integrated marine infrastructure at tidewater to accommodate loading and unloading of oil and condensate tankers, and marine transportation of oil and condensate." The CA$7.9 billion project was first proposed in the mid-2000s but was postponed several times. The project plan was developed by Enbridge Inc., a Canadian crude oil and liquids pipeline and storage company.
The Long Lake oil sands upgrader project is an in situ oil extraction project near Anzac, Alberta, 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Fort McMurray in the Athabasca oil sands region of Alberta.
The Kalamazoo River oil spill occurred in July 2010 when a pipeline operated by Enbridge burst and flowed into Talmadge Creek, a tributary of the Kalamazoo River near Marshall, Michigan. A 6-foot (1.8 m) break in the pipeline resulted in one of the largest inland oil spills in U.S. history. The pipeline carries diluted bitumen (dilbit), a heavy crude oil from Canada's Athabasca oil sands to the United States. Cleanup took five years. Following the spill, the volatile hydrocarbon diluents evaporated, leaving the heavier bitumen to sink in the water column. Thirty-five miles (56 km) of the Kalamazoo River were closed for clean-up until June 2012, when portions of the river were re-opened. On March 14, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered Enbridge to return to dredge portions of the river to remove submerged oil and oil-contaminated sediment.
The Seaway Crude Pipeline System (SCPS), commonly known as the Seaway Pipeline, is an oil pipeline system which transports crude oil between Cushing, Oklahoma and Freeport, Texas, and through the Texas City, Texas Terminal and Distribution System on the Gulf Coast of the United States. The Seaway is an important crude oil transfer link between two petroleum regions within the United States.
Western Canadian Select (WCS) is a heavy sour blend of crude oil that is one of North America's largest heavy crude oil streams and, historically, its cheapest. It was established in December 2004 as a new heavy oil stream by EnCana, Canadian Natural Resources, Petro-Canada and Talisman Energy. It is composed mostly of bitumen blended with sweet synthetic and condensate diluents and 21 existing streams of both conventional and unconventional Alberta heavy crude oils at the large Husky Midstream General Partnership terminal in Hardisty, Alberta. Western Canadian Select—the benchmark for heavy, acidic crudes—is one of many petroleum products from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin oil sands. Calgary-based Husky Energy, now a subsidiary of Cenovus, had joined the initial four founders in 2015.
Enbridge Line 5 is a 645-mile oil pipeline owned by the Canadian multinational corporation Enbridge. Constructed in 1953, the pipeline conveys crude oil from western Canada to eastern Canada via the Great Lakes states. Line 5 is part of the Enbridge Lakehead System and passes under the environmentally sensitive Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Michigan to Lake Huron. The 30-inch pipeline carries 540,000 barrels (86,000 m3) of synthetic crude, natural gas liquids, sweet crude, and light sour crude per day as of 2013.
The Trans Mountain Pipeline System, or simply the Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMPL), is a multiple product pipeline system that carries crude and refined products from Edmonton, Alberta, to the coast of British Columbia, Canada.
The Line 3 pipeline is an oil pipeline owned by the Canadian multinational Enbridge. Operating since 1968, it runs 1,031 miles (1,659 km) from Hardisty, Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin, United States.
Pipelines in Canada are important components of energy infrastructure in Canada as the majority of natural gas and oil deposits are located in landlocked Alberta and need to be transported to ports or terminals to access larger markets.
The city of Cushing in Oklahoma is a central hub within the United States and worldwide oil industry. It connects major pipelines within the United States and is the location where the oil futures contracts end up being delivered. It is the physical delivery point of West Texas Intermediate oil.
↑ Gray, Earle (2008). Ontario's Petroleum Legacy: The Birth, Evolution and Challenges of a Global Industry. Heritage Community Foundation. p.73. ISBN9780973989229.
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C$43,649 billion(2023) [1] 
