Tanks rise in the distance at Enbridge's Superior, Wis. Terminal. Five tanks — each with a capacity of 250,000 barrels — were added to this Lakehead System Hub as part of the Alberta Clipper expansion project in 2009-2010.
Liquids Business
Lakehead System
We celebrated the 60th anniversary of our Lakehead
System in 2009. The first pipeline in the Lakehead System
was constructed in 1949, and as of 2010, the U.S. right-ofway
will have been expanded to include up to six separate
and parallel crude oil and liquid petroleum pipelines. Not
only is the Lakehead System a common carrier pipeline
that serves as the primary transporter of crude oil and liquid
petroleum to the United States from western Canada,
but it also supplies the major refining markets in the U.S.
Great Lakes and upper Midwest as well as in Ontario,
Canada. When combined with the Enbridge Inc. mainline
system in Canada, it is the longest liquid petroleum
pipeline system in the world. In addition, Enbridge Inc.'s
newly expanded Spearhead Pipeline connects with the
Lakehead System near Chicago and offers crude oil shippers
increased access to the Mid-Continent and Gulf Coast
markets through the Cushing, Okla., Hub.
In 2009, average system deliveries on the Lakehead
System increased by 1.9 percent, from the same period in
2008 and contributed an additional $9.5 million to operating
revenue. Deliveries on the Lakehead System in 2009
averaged 1.65 million Bpd compared with 1.62 million
Bpd in 2008. The increase is attributed to increases in
crude oil supplies from the continued development of the
Alberta oil sands.
Canada continues to be the largest source of U.S. crude
oil imports by supplying about 1.2 million Bpd of the U.S.
crude oil imports. Approximately 68 percent of western
Canadian crude oil exports to the United States in 2009
were shipped via the Lakehead System. Of the total Lakehead
System receipts, some 5 percent are sourced from
domestic production, including increasing deliveries from
our North Dakota System.
Crude oil price volatility in 2008 and 2009 caused some
producers to cancel or defer projects. This is likely to slow
the demand for additional capacity on our Lakehead mainline
system in the short-term, but the Canadian Association
of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) is forecasting future
production from the Alberta oil sands to grow steadily
during the next 10 years with an additional 1.4 million
Bpd of incremental supply available by 2019.