Enbridge's 3mn b/d Mainline crude export system will accept all pipeline nominations for March flow, a rare occurrence and an indication the volumes are no longer being stranded in Alberta.
This is the first time since June 2020 that Enbridge has not rejected any nominations on what is the largest crude export system coming out of Canada. Pipeline congestion became a permanent fixture in the Canadian market starting in 2014, so this latest announcement is just the tenth time apportionment was not required over that eight-year span.
The frequent need to reject nominations came as pipeline companies, including Enbridge, TC Energy and Kinder Morgan, saw project proposals get tied up in regulatory red tape. Enbridge still added 1.1mn b/d upstream of Superior, Wisconsin, between 2013 and 2017, but that barely kept pace with growing crude production in oil-rich Alberta.
Alberta's crude output averaged about 3.6mn b/d in 2021, more than 1mn b/d higher than in 2013.
Crude-by-rail became a viable alternative when pipelines were full and low prices in Alberta justified it, but those movements have fallen since Enbridge commissioned its 760,000 b/d Line 3 Replacement Project (L3RP). L3RP effectively added about 370,000 b/d of new export capacity after being put into service on 1 October.
Crude-by-rail continues to provide shippers the ability to get into non-pipeline connected markets or ship other products such as DRUbit that is unable to flow on pipelines.
