Maybe It's Time, Part 3 - How Enbridge's Mainline Shift May Boost U.S. Crude Exports

Enbridge’s 2.8-MMb/d Mainline system from Alberta to the U.S. Midwest has been running close to full, as have the other crude oil pipelines out of Western Canada. The Mainline is a unicorn among these pipes, however, in that none of its capacity — zilch — is under long-term contract. Instead, under Enbridge’s almost nine-year-old Competitive Tolling Settlement (CTS), shippers each month submit nominations stating the volumes of crude they would like to transport the following month on various elements of the Mainline system, then hope they get what they need when the available capacity is divvied up. In an effort to give producers and refiners the pipeline-capacity certainty they say they want — and to optimize the efficiency of the Mainline’s operation — Enbridge has been working with shippers on a CTS-replacement plan that would commit as much as 90% of the capacity on the pipeline system to shippers who enter into long-term contracts. Today, we continue this blog series with a look at how the prospective “priority access” capacity-allocation system is shaping up, how it might affect planned pipeline projects, and how it may facilitate the transport of a lot more crude from Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Enbridge’s long-running effort to revamp how it allocates space — and charges for service — on its 2.9-MMb/d Mainline crude oil pipeline system is about to enter a new and important phase. On July 15, the Calgary, AB-based midstream giant plans to initiate an open season for shippers interested in locking up long-term capacity on the Mainline, which serves as the primary conduit for heavy and light crude from Western Canada to U.S. crude hubs and refineries. If all goes well, shippers will know by late in the year how much space they will have on the system starting in mid-2021, assuming Enbridge’s plan is approved by regulators. This is a huge change. The Mainline isn’t just the largest crude pipeline system out of Western Canada, it’s also the only major line whose service is currently 100% “uncommitted” — that is, the Mainline has no capacity under long-term contracts with shippers. Today, we discuss the latest on the midstreamer’s Mainline tolling plan.

The recently mandated reduction in Alberta crude oil production has helped to ease takeaway constraints out of Western Canada, but only temporarily. Worse yet, it’s unclear how long it will take to add new takeaway capacity from challenged projects like the Trans Mountain Expansion Project or Keystone XL. In the midst of all this trouble and uncertainty, Enbridge is pursuing a potentially controversial plan to revamp how it allocates space — and charges for service — on its 2.8-MMb/d Mainline system, the primary conduit for heavy and light crudes from Western Canada to U.S. crude hubs and refineries. Today, we begin a series on the company’s push to shift to a system that would allocate most of the space on its multi-pipe Mainline system to shippers that sign long-term contracts.