Enbridge delivered some relatively good news for Alberta's oil producers on Friday, as the energy patch awaits completion of the Trans Mountain Expansion project, which is not expected until mid-2022, at best.
BOOSTING EXPORT CAPACITY OUT OF WESTERN CANADA
Enbridge says it expects to add about 100,000 bbl/day of incremental capacity on its Mainline network, one of the largest oil pipelines in the world, which runs from Alberta to the US Midwest. The 3 million bbl/day network will be expanded through a number of "system optimizations" and "recovery of existing capacity."
Enbridge also says its 50,000 bbl/day expansion of the Express pipeline, which runs from Hardisty to the Rocky Mountains, will be fully operational in the first half of 2020.
This is all in addition to another 50,000 bbl/day that will be made available on TC Energy's existing Keystone pipeline, beginning early 2020.
In total, the three expansion will see another 200,000 bbl/day of crude export capacity by the middle of next year.
DIVERSIFYING AWAY FROM MIDWEST CUSTOMERS
Enbridge also says it plans to send more barrels to the US Gulf Coast by adding another 200,000 bbl/day of light oil capacity on its Seaway Pipeline, which runs from Cushing to the Texas Gulf Coast. The expansion involves mostly pump upgrades, and could begin service by the middle of next year, ramping up to full capacity in 2022.