North American crude needs shipping option

Officials at Canadian pipeline company Enbridge said they were exploring shipping options because of increased North American oil production.


Enbridge Chief Executive Officer Richard Bird noted there was increased production of oil sands in western Canada and from the Bakken oil field in North Dakota. This mean oil supplies were piling up at terminals downstream in Cushing, Okla.
"We have projects under discussion with shippers both to address that light crude glut in Cushing with a link to the Gulf Coast and also a full-pass solution from Western Canada down to the Gulf Coast," he was quoted by the Calgary Herald as saying.
U.S. energy companies Enterprise Products Partners and Energy Transfer Partners are looking to build a pipeline that could carry as much as 450,000 barrels per day.
Canadian pipeline company TransCanada, meanwhile, is pushing for an extension to its Keystone pipeline that would add another 700,000 barrels of capacity per day.
Keystone, however, faces opposition from critics who worry about the potential of spills from the pipeline. They complain tar sands are more corrosive than other forms of crude.
Source: UPI