Pipeline Series: ENBRIDGE PIPELINERS ARE BACK IN NORTHERN MINNESOTA
By Mary Lou Aurell
Grand Rapids and Bemidji will make pipeline history this month when they become centers for the Minnesota construction of Enbridge Pipelines, Inc.’s largest expansion ever.
Preconstruction meetings are underway for the Alberta Clipper extension of the Enbridge system, a project that, along with sister projects Southern Lights and North Dakota System Expansion Phase 6, will bring hundreds of thousands of dollars and numerous jobs to the area.
The complete Alberta Clipper Project will cost an estimated $1.2 billion. When the complementary expansions are finished, Enbridge will have spent about $8 billion.
According to Denise Hamsher, Enbridge spokeswoman for major projects, construction of the 36-inch Alberta Clipper in the KAXE listening area will begin sometime in August. The pipeline will run diagonally across northern Minnesota, between Hardisty, Alberta, Canada and Superior, WI, passing through a booming Clearbrook hub on its way. The 1,000-mile extension is expected to be in service by 2010. In Minnesota it will cover 285 miles and cross 13 counties.
“The line is being overbuilt,” Hamsher said, “so that future demand (fed by increasing supply from the Alberta oil sands) can be met. The amount pumped can expand from 450,000 to 800,000 barrels per day.”
“A greater percentage of U.S. crude is coming from Canadian oil sands as the production shifts away from the Texas and other older oil fields,” she said.
The Alberta Clipper will be part of Enbridge’s Minnesota and U.S. Lakehead System that connects with two other pipelines bringing petroleum products to Midwest refineries.
The 1,900-mile Lakehead System has operated for 59 years as the primary transporter of crude oil from Western Canada to the United States. Its volume accounts for 70% of this Canadian product.
The Canadian company has the largest crude oil pipeline in the world, currently carrying 1.6 million barrels daily. Since 2007 it has spent over $12 billion expanding in North America. As Enbridge moves into other areas it will process 70% of the U.S. refined products, according to Enbridge literature. Minnesota gets the bulk of its petroleum products from the Enbridge system, said Larry Hartman of the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
Enbridge built its first pipeline from Alberta, Canada to Superior in 1949. Six additional pipelines, some built in the 60’s and 70’s, others more recently, now run mostly parallel to the 1949 line, Hamsher said. The new lines will follow their same route.
Construction of the extensions will begin despite the court action of environmentalists from the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and protests from the Indigenous Environmental Network.
The Southern Lights line will flow south to north to carry light hydrocarbons used to dilute heavy crude oil from the Canadian oil sands so they flow more easily through the pipelines. This new line will join other parts of existing lines. According to Hamsher, the use of diluents might be called “a recycling process.”
The 313-mile LSr Project, part of Southern Lights, carries crude between Canada and Clearbrook and is replacing lines taken out of service to add more capacity. LSr has been operating since 2008.
The North Dakota project that affects Minnesota will boost pumping capacity for the entire line from 80,000 to 110,000 barrels a day, eventually carrying 155,000 barrels as pressure and flow are adjusted, Hamsher said.
Despite an overwhelming presence, Enbridge is not the only pipeline player in Minnesota. Two others that carry crude oil and related products are well-known in our area.
A 304–mile, 24 -inch oil pipeline called the MinnCan project follows two other Minnesota pipelines and cuts new routes, ending at the Rosemount and St. Paul Park refineries. MinnCan, which carries oil from Canadian reserves, was constructed by the Minnesota Pipeline Co., a specialty contractor, and is operated by Koch Pipeline Co., a U.S. company. The project was completed in 2008.
Koch is responsible for approximately 4,000 miles of pipelines that move about 1 million barrels of crude every day. In the 1950s Koch began operating pipelines in the Midwest and Canada, and later bought, sold and built additional lines. One of its lines delivers jet fuel to the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.
NuStar Energy L.P.’s refined products line runs from Mandan, ND to Moorhead, MN, then connects with lines to Roseville to deliver gasoline and diesel fuels from the Mandan refinery, according to Joanna Weidman, a spokesperson for NuStar.
This pipeline was built in 1950s, at the same time as the Rosemount terminal. Both were constructed by Amoco. There has not been a lot of expansion or extension to this line since it was built, Weidman said.
(Material for this article came from oil company web sites and spokespeople, a public information web site, the Bemidji Pioneer, Minnesota Public Radio, Business North, the mayor of Clearbrook and an engineer from the Minnesota Department of Commerce.)
Photo courtesy of University of Ottawa, Canada
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ENBRIDGE EXPANSION ACROSS NORTHERN MINNESOTA? CLICK ON "SUBMIT COMMENT" AND SHARE YOUR PERSPECTIVE!
How many of the jobs being brought to the area are permanent jobs that will remain after the pipeline is built? - Melissa Pond
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During a previous pipeline expansion, the Chippewa National Forest took comments during an environmental review. I suggested that the pipeline company should purchase an amount of deforested land equal to what they were deforesting and reforest it. Later, I heard from a Forest Service employee that the pipeline company representatives really squirmed when that comment was read.
When one of the local power companies was conducting an environmental review prior to building a power plant west of Bemidji a few years ago, I objected to the fact that they were obtaining fuel from the pipeline that passed by the site. I suggested that they invest in wind turbines, instead. I was surprised to find out later that mine was the only complaint they received about the project.
The various pipelines running from Clearbrook east to Superior and south through Itasca State Park to the Twin Cities have a very profound environmental impact. The rights-of-way are kept deforested. They provide corridors for ATV traffic, spreading non-native invasive species throughout the landscape. The daily flights by helicopters to spot leaks burn up tremendous amounts of fuel. And then you have the occasional leak.
I hate to point out problems without suggesting solutions: ride a bike, shop locally for locally produced goods, limit your driving, use a fuel efficient vehicle and fill it up with people whenever it goes on the road, eat low on the food chain, downsize and superinsulate your house. It is the responsibility of each of us to do what we can. Stopping a pipeline without addressing the demand for the product is not going to help. I used to say every gallon of gasoline I buy is like one vote for George Bush. I need a new saying. - Harvey Tjader
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Grand Rapids and Bemidji will make pipeline history this month when they become centers for the Minnesota construction of Enbridge Pipelines, Inc.’s largest expansion ever.
Preconstruction meetings are underway for the Alberta Clipper extension of the Enbridge system, a project that, along with sister projects Southern Lights and North Dakota System Expansion Phase 6, will bring hundreds of thousands of dollars and numerous jobs to the area.
The complete Alberta Clipper Project will cost an estimated $1.2 billion. When the complementary expansions are finished, Enbridge will have spent about $8 billion.
According to Denise Hamsher, Enbridge spokeswoman for major projects, construction of the 36-inch Alberta Clipper in the KAXE listening area will begin sometime in August. The pipeline will run diagonally across northern Minnesota, between Hardisty, Alberta, Canada and Superior, WI, passing through a booming Clearbrook hub on its way. The 1,000-mile extension is expected to be in service by 2010. In Minnesota it will cover 285 miles and cross 13 counties.
“The line is being overbuilt,” Hamsher said, “so that future demand (fed by increasing supply from the Alberta oil sands) can be met. The amount pumped can expand from 450,000 to 800,000 barrels per day.”
“A greater percentage of U.S. crude is coming from Canadian oil sands as the production shifts away from the Texas and other older oil fields,” she said.
The Alberta Clipper will be part of Enbridge’s Minnesota and U.S. Lakehead System that connects with two other pipelines bringing petroleum products to Midwest refineries.
The 1,900-mile Lakehead System has operated for 59 years as the primary transporter of crude oil from Western Canada to the United States. Its volume accounts for 70% of this Canadian product.
The Canadian company has the largest crude oil pipeline in the world, currently carrying 1.6 million barrels daily. Since 2007 it has spent over $12 billion expanding in North America. As Enbridge moves into other areas it will process 70% of the U.S. refined products, according to Enbridge literature. Minnesota gets the bulk of its petroleum products from the Enbridge system, said Larry Hartman of the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
Enbridge built its first pipeline from Alberta, Canada to Superior in 1949. Six additional pipelines, some built in the 60’s and 70’s, others more recently, now run mostly parallel to the 1949 line, Hamsher said. The new lines will follow their same route.
Construction of the extensions will begin despite the court action of environmentalists from the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy and protests from the Indigenous Environmental Network.
The Southern Lights line will flow south to north to carry light hydrocarbons used to dilute heavy crude oil from the Canadian oil sands so they flow more easily through the pipelines. This new line will join other parts of existing lines. According to Hamsher, the use of diluents might be called “a recycling process.”
The 313-mile LSr Project, part of Southern Lights, carries crude between Canada and Clearbrook and is replacing lines taken out of service to add more capacity. LSr has been operating since 2008.
The North Dakota project that affects Minnesota will boost pumping capacity for the entire line from 80,000 to 110,000 barrels a day, eventually carrying 155,000 barrels as pressure and flow are adjusted, Hamsher said.
Despite an overwhelming presence, Enbridge is not the only pipeline player in Minnesota. Two others that carry crude oil and related products are well-known in our area.
A 304–mile, 24 -inch oil pipeline called the MinnCan project follows two other Minnesota pipelines and cuts new routes, ending at the Rosemount and St. Paul Park refineries. MinnCan, which carries oil from Canadian reserves, was constructed by the Minnesota Pipeline Co., a specialty contractor, and is operated by Koch Pipeline Co., a U.S. company. The project was completed in 2008.
Koch is responsible for approximately 4,000 miles of pipelines that move about 1 million barrels of crude every day. In the 1950s Koch began operating pipelines in the Midwest and Canada, and later bought, sold and built additional lines. One of its lines delivers jet fuel to the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.
NuStar Energy L.P.’s refined products line runs from Mandan, ND to Moorhead, MN, then connects with lines to Roseville to deliver gasoline and diesel fuels from the Mandan refinery, according to Joanna Weidman, a spokesperson for NuStar.
This pipeline was built in 1950s, at the same time as the Rosemount terminal. Both were constructed by Amoco. There has not been a lot of expansion or extension to this line since it was built, Weidman said.
(Material for this article came from oil company web sites and spokespeople, a public information web site, the Bemidji Pioneer, Minnesota Public Radio, Business North, the mayor of Clearbrook and an engineer from the Minnesota Department of Commerce.)
Photo courtesy of University of Ottawa, Canada
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ENBRIDGE EXPANSION ACROSS NORTHERN MINNESOTA? CLICK ON "SUBMIT COMMENT" AND SHARE YOUR PERSPECTIVE!
How many of the jobs being brought to the area are permanent jobs that will remain after the pipeline is built? - Melissa Pond
**********
During a previous pipeline expansion, the Chippewa National Forest took comments during an environmental review. I suggested that the pipeline company should purchase an amount of deforested land equal to what they were deforesting and reforest it. Later, I heard from a Forest Service employee that the pipeline company representatives really squirmed when that comment was read.
When one of the local power companies was conducting an environmental review prior to building a power plant west of Bemidji a few years ago, I objected to the fact that they were obtaining fuel from the pipeline that passed by the site. I suggested that they invest in wind turbines, instead. I was surprised to find out later that mine was the only complaint they received about the project.
The various pipelines running from Clearbrook east to Superior and south through Itasca State Park to the Twin Cities have a very profound environmental impact. The rights-of-way are kept deforested. They provide corridors for ATV traffic, spreading non-native invasive species throughout the landscape. The daily flights by helicopters to spot leaks burn up tremendous amounts of fuel. And then you have the occasional leak.
I hate to point out problems without suggesting solutions: ride a bike, shop locally for locally produced goods, limit your driving, use a fuel efficient vehicle and fill it up with people whenever it goes on the road, eat low on the food chain, downsize and superinsulate your house. It is the responsibility of each of us to do what we can. Stopping a pipeline without addressing the demand for the product is not going to help. I used to say every gallon of gasoline I buy is like one vote for George Bush. I need a new saying. - Harvey Tjader
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If 99.95% agreed, that'd be one thing. Right now it's nowhere near that. Maybe a plurality, certainly not a majority. No need to bankrupt ourselves for a theory that has holes being shot through it more and more each day. - Robert Hampton
By the way, I'm completely onboard with the whole local food movement and support local farmers. Al Gore, however, is going to have to make his next millions without my help.
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By the way, I'm completely onboard with the whole local food movement and support local farmers. Al Gore, however, is going to have to make his next millions without my help.
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If 99.95% of the world's scientists agree that humans have created a rapidly-escalating global warming / climate change scenario, who exactly has discredited their findings and theories? Rush Limbaugh? Sean Hannity? G. Gordon Liddy? - C. Thomas Cook
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If only we could convince people to stop using plastics... or eat food that wasn't grown in their backyard... or wear clothes produced somewhere else... then we wouldn't need this silly oil! - Julie Klejeski
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Agreed. - Robert Hampton
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Don't feed the trolls - Jeff N. Gregg
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Besides, unless you're referring to anti-monarchists or people who believe in the concept of a republic, "Republican" is capitalized. Ask your teacher when classes start again. - Robert Hampton
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Ah, the ad hominem attack, the last refuge of scoundrels as their precious theories evaporate into the ether. - Robert Hampton
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How about the fact that it's a 1/1 ratio of oil to toxic waste? The only people who discredit climate change are ignorant hicks, republicans, and oil men. I prefer to get my facts from scientists. - Jeremiah Liend
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No one's for pollution, but trying to breathe life into the mostly discredited "climate change" argument isn't the best approach. Better to oppose it on rational grounds. - Robert Hampton
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You do realize that this pipeline is not carrying traditionally drilled oil. This is Alberta tar sands oil extracted from sand deposits using natural gas; this is process produces an extraordinary amount of greenhouse gases and is very devasting and toxic to the surrounding landscape. Google Alberta tar sands; learn about the unmentioned hidden cost of this pipeline to Alberta's boreal forest, native peoples, and effect on climate change. - Wes Bailey
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