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Enbridge is proposing to reverse a section of its Line 9 between Sarnia and Westover, Ontario to accommodate a customer’s request for access to the Ontario market. Line 9 is an existing Enbridge pipeline with a current capacity of 240,000 barrels per day (bpd) that extends from Montreal, Quebec to Sarnia, Ontario and currently transports offshore crude oil in a westbound direction. Only the section of Line 9 between Sarnia and Westover will be affected by this project. Our customer, Imperial Oil Limited, filed a letter with the National Energy Board (NEB) on September 20, 2011 confirming their commercial support of delivery to Westover (and their Nanticoke refinery). Read the letter of comment.

The scope of the proposed Project includes reversing the flow of the section of Line 9 from Sarnia to Westover and modifying existing pump stations in order to allow for the eastbound transportation of incremental western Canadian crude oil, which can be sourced from a number of locations in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Initially, we expect to flow a minimum of 50,000 bpd of crude oil through this project, with a maximum capacity of 200,000 bpd. We expect that the main product to be transported will be light crude oil. The pipeline will initially carry light crude oil, but the reversed Line 9 between Sarnia and Westover, Ontario will be capable of transporting a range of crude oil products.

The Project will take place within existing Enbridge properties and easements. There is no new pipeline construction outside Enbridge-owned facilities involved in this project. Project work at Sarnia Terminal, Westover Terminal and North Westover Station includes modifications to existing equipment and the installation of a short length of pipe. The project work may result in higher than normal traffic and noise at these facilities during the project period, but these will cease upon the completion of project work.

By taking advantage of existing facilities, the Project will minimize potential impacts to the environment and to stakeholders. Also, reversing the flow of the pipeline from Sarnia to Westover is an economical way to utilize the existing system.

Line 9 Background

Line 9 was originally an eastbound pipeline built in the mid-1970s to secure the supply of oil in Quebec, then dependent on offshore crude. In the late 1990s, the flow was reversed to accommodate changing market conditions.

In 2008, the flow was proposed to be reversed back to its original eastbound direction as part of a multi-component project called Trailbreaker. That project was put on hold in 2009 due to lack of commercial support and is no longer being pursued by Enbridge.

In documents Enbridge has filed with the NEB, we have further affirmed that the scope and objective of Trailbreaker, as previously contemplated, is no longer being pursued. Read our letter of October 21, 2011 to the NEB in response to comments from the general public on Trailbreaker, Enbridge pipeline integrity, Eastern Canadian energy supply, and related issues here.