Page 14 - NorthAmOil Week 27

NorthAmOil PIPELINES & TRANSPORT NorthAmOil

Enbridge resumes shipments

through western leg of Line 5

ENBRIDGE has brought the western leg of long-time critic of Line 5 and has called for it to
Line 5, the twin pipeline that pumps crude oil be closed down and dismantled.
and natural gas liquids (NGLs) from western Nessel recently praised the Ingham County
Canada to Ontario via the Great Lakes, back on Circuit Court for ordering Enbridge to submit a
stream. report on the condition of the eastern segment
Ryan Duffy, a spokesman for the Cal- within seven days of restarting that part of the
gary-based company, confirmed late on July 8 network. “The court decision allows the state to
that the western leg of the network, which passes receive the vital information surrounding this
under the Straits of Mackinac, was back online. incident that we need to complete an informed
“Enbridge has now safely restarted the west analysis of the damage and evaluate the threat
segment and anticipates operations will soon this pipeline poses to our environment if left to
return to normal,” he was quoted as saying by operate in its current state,” she said on July 1.
ENRMidwest. Duffy, for his part, pointed out that Line 5 has
Duffy also stressed that the company was already been operating safely since the 1950s. He
committed to complying with a recent ruling by also noted that Enbridge remained committed
the Ingham County Circuit Court in Michigan. to building a replacement for the system in the
“Pursuant to the court order, we will conduct an form of an underground tunnel that will be large
inline inspection tool run on the west segment enough to accommodate service trucks.
and share our findings with the state in accord- “We remain willing to work with the state
ance with the court’s orders,” he said. going forward to address issues of concern about
He was referring to the court’s decision on the safety of Line 5 and its ultimate replacement
June 30 to amend the terms of a temporary with The Great Lakes Tunnel that will contain
restraining order so as to permit Enbridge to a new section of pipeline,” he said. “Enbridge is
pump oil and NGLs through the western leg of currently seeking permit approval of the tunnel
the network. That restraining order, which was which, upon completion, will make a safe pipe-
issued on June 25, called for a total shutdown of line even safer.” ™
both the western and eastern segments.
In the meantime, Duffy stressed, the east-
ern leg will remain idle while Enbridge seeks
to assess and repair damage to the pipeline that
was discovered earlier this year. The company is
suspending flows through that part of the sys-
tem “as we work with our safety regulator, the
[US] Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration [PHMSA], to ensure all of the
safety assessments are complete and data pro-
vided prior to restarting the east segment,” he
explained.
These moves may help alleviate some of
the concerns expressed by Michigan Attorney
General Dana Nessel. The attorney general is a Enbridge pipeline systems/Enbridge

Atlantic Coast Pipeline cancelled

DOMINION Energy and Duke Energy have gas from the Utica and Marcellus shale forma-
opted not to move forward with the construc- tions to consumers in the three transit states, in
tion of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) along a joint press release on July 5.
a 970-km route through West Virginia, Virginia They cited “ongoing delays and increasing
and North Carolina. cost uncertainty [that] threaten the economic
The two companies announced the cancella- viability of the project” as the reason for their
tion of the project, which was designed to supply decision.

P14 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 27 09•July•2020