Enbridge Eyes Mainline Expansion; What Some Of Us Will Be Talking About Wednesday -- September 30, 2014

Enbridge eyes Mainline expansion. Rigzone is reporting:

Enbridge Inc, Canada's largest pipeline operator, said on Tuesday it may have to build new pipeline capacity from its Superior, Wisconsin, storage hub if oil shipments from Canada and the Bakken shale field of North Dakota keep expanding.

Enbridge could handle up to 500,000 more barrels per day (bpd) on its 2.5 million bpd system once it completes rebuilding its Line 3 pipeline from Alberta to Superior and finishes its Sandpiper pipeline serving the Bakken in 2017.

Canada currently produces about 3.5 million barrels per day and ships nearly 3 million to the United States. According to industry forecasts, Canada's production will rise to nearly 5 million bpd by 2020.

If growth in Canada or North Dakota is stronger than anticipated, Enbridge said it can accommodate the increased flows on its mainline system, which handles the lion's share of Canadian exports.

"If volumes available to the Mainline turn out to be stronger than anticipated, there's a potential for growth on our system of in excess of 500,000 barrels per day," Jarvis said.

To reach that capacity, the Sandpiper project from the Bakken oil field in North Dakota to the Mainline could be expanded by up to 160,000 bpd, while Line 3, which starts in Edmonton, Alberta, will have unused capacity into Superior of 370,000 bpd.

From Enbridge webpage, the company's Mainline:

The Mainline Enhancement Project is designed to expand access to refinery markets in the U.S. Midwest and beyond for growing production from western Canada by adding pumping capacity to Enbridge’s Alberta Clipper pipeline, also known as Line 67.

In Canada, the Alberta Clipper (Line 67) is an existing Enbridge 914 mm (36 inch) pipeline with a current capacity of 450,000 bopd. Enbridge has applied to the National Energy Board to expand Alberta Clipper’s transmission capacity to 570,000 bopd through additions and modifications to existing facilities.

Based on its design, Line 67 is intended to expand up to 800,000 bpd with additional pumping capacity in future.

Subject to the required regulatory approvals, the first phase of the Mainline Enhancement Project that increases capacity to 570,000 bpd will be in-service in mid-2014.

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Oh-Oh

This could be the big story: Federal judge rules that President Obama cannot provide subsidies for those signing up for ObamaCare through the federal exchange. At least that's what I think the judge said. I assume one of two things will happen: a) the Supreme Court takes the case; or, b) the Supreme Court does not take the case and ... like a house of cards ...

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The Wall Street Journal

Secret Service screws it up. Speaking of "JV....."

Ebola in Texas. Oh, oh.

More cable companies take "TV" off menu. Won't be missed.

Oil companies and railroads push-back on CBR proposals. [Rigzone also has the story: industry wants seven (7) years to retro-fit/replace tank cars.]

Big story, previously reported: US oil exports climb.

A Chinese fracking bet goes wrong. The Bakken shale formation has revolutionized North America's energy industry. But an early Chinese private-equity bet into Canad'sside of the oil field has little to show for its investment.

Another bumper crop sets corn prices falling.

Oil tanks as supply overwhelms demand.