Progress made on Line 3, added Canadian capacity coming

Enbridge Inc. is adding more pipeline capacity for Canadian oil producers this year and sees progress on the crucial $9 billion replacement and expansion of its Line 3 crude-oil pipeline.

Regulators in the Minnesota are due to submit a revised environmental impact statement for the project by Dec. 9, and state permitting agencies are advancing their work as much as possible in parallel with that process, Calgary-based Enbridge told Bloomberg News in its third-quarter earnings statement on Friday.

The company reiterated that, depending on the final in-service date, the cost may exceed its current estimates, though it also said it doesn’t anticipate any material impacts.

Key Takeaways

• Enbridge’s update on Line 3, a project that has been delayed for over a year by regulatory hurdles, may provide some grounds for optimism for Canadian oil producers. They’ve been counting on the conduit to help clear a glut of crude and allow Alberta to end its mandatory output cuts.
• North America’s largest pipeline company also offered hope for producers with the guidance that it’s adding about 100,000 barrels of daily oil-shipping capacity by optimizing its current system. That’s up from a previous forecast of about 85,000 barrels.
• The company also showed investors it’s on track from an earnings perspective. Third-quarter profit, excluding some items, was 56 Canadian cents a share, topping analysts’ 51-cent average estimate. Enbridge also said it expects its distributable cash flow for the year to exceed the midpoint of its guidance range.

(Bloomberg News)