Portal Link Reactivation and Reversal
Project Overview
Enbridge affiliates, the Enbridge Income Fund and Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P., are proposing a number of expansions of their pipeline systems to add transport capacity that will help address current and future increases in crude oil production from the Bakken and Three Forks formations.
The Portal Link Reversal involved the reactivation and flow reversal of 85.7 miles (138 kilometres) of an existing pipeline between Berthold, North Dakota and Enbridge Income Fund’s Steelman terminal in Saskatchewan. In the U.S. this pipeline is referred to as Line 26 (Line 26 Reactivation/Reversal Project) and in Canada it is referred to as Line EX-02 (Line EX-02 Reactivation/Reversal Project).
The reactivation and reversal of Line 26 and Line EX-02 are now complete as of May 2011. The Portal Link Reversal adds 25,000 barrels per day of crude oil transportation capacity on these affiliated Enbridge systems operating in the Williston Basin.
By reactivating and reversing an existing pipeline system, Enbridge was able to add capacity to transport crude oil out of the Bakken and Three Forks formations without the need to construct a new pipeline, and therefore, minimized associated environmental and stakeholder impacts. By using this existing pipeline, crude oil can now be transported from this region north into Enbridge’s Saskatchewan System, where it is then transported through the existing terminal near Cromer, Manitoba onto the Enbridge Mainline system.
Line 26 Reactivation/Reversal – U.S.
The U.S. component of the Portal Link Reversal consisted of the reactivation and flow reversal of approximately 64.7 miles (104 kilometres) of the existing Line 26 pipeline between Berthold, North Dakota and the U.S.-Canada border. Line 26 will be owned by Enbridge Pipelines (North Dakota) LLC until 2013. As of 2013, Line 26 and the pump facilities at Kenaston and Lignite will be owned by Bakken LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. Bakken LLC and Enbridge Pipelines (North Dakota) LLC will have joint ownership of the Berthold pump facility.
Line EX-02 Reactivation/Reversal – Canada
The Canadian component of the Portal Link Reversal consisted of the reactivation and flow reversal of an existing 21-mile (34 kilometre) crude oil pipeline that runs between the Canada-U.S. border and the existing Steelman Terminal. These Canadian assets are currently owned by Enbridge Pipelines (Westspur) Inc., a subsidiary of the Enbridge Income Fund.
Maps
No new right-of-way or pipe was required for the reversal and reactivation of the Portal Link.