Energy
Enbridge Subsidiary Wins Presidential Permits for Cross-Border Pipelines
Construction of cross-border pipelines in North Dakota and Michigan could total $620 million
This map shows Enbridge's pipeline system in the U.S. and Canada. The yellow lines are liquid pipelines; the blue lines are natural gas transmission lines.
Enbridge Energy and its subsidiary, Bakken Pipeline Co., have received presidential permits to continue operating and maintaining existing U.S.-Canada cross-border pipeline facilities in North Dakota and Michigan.
The move is expected to support future pipeline-related construction and eventually boost capacity by hundreds of thousands of gallons of petroleum a day.
The authorization covers facilities in Burke County, N.D., including an existing 12-inch-diameter pipeline from the international border to Portal, N.D. It also includes installation of the first U.S. mainline shutoff valve or pump station about 0.5 miles south of the border, along with any associated structures, installations or equipment.
In Michigan, the permit applies to an existing 30-inch-diameter pipeline in St. Clair County, extending from the international boundary to the first U.S. shutoff valve or pump station, approximately 0.3 miles from the border, and to associated facilities.
The lines in both states are permitted to carry crude oil and other petroleum products, including naphtha, liquefied petroleum gases, natural gas liquids, jet fuel, gasoline, kerosene and diesel—but not natural gas.
Enbridge Energy and Bakken operate more than 40 pipeline-related facilities in Michigan and North Dakota. The companies are proposing about $620 million in construction projects, according to Industrial Info Resources, which tracks the pipeline industry.
In Burke County, Bakken’s system includes a crude oil pumping station near Lignite, N.D., which feeds a line to Steelman, Saskatchewan, with a capacity of about 145,000 barrels a day.
"These permits add flexibility to our existing permits and further support our Mainline optimization programs that are currently expected to add more than 250,000 barrels per day to the U.S. as early as the end of 2028," Enbridge spokesperson Ryan Duffy said in a statement.
He added that Enbridge's existing cross-border pipeline network transports more than 3 million barrels of oil per day.
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Under the permits, Bakken is responsible for obtaining any necessary right-of-way grants or easements, permits and other authorizations, and for indemnifying the U.S. against any liability arising from the operation or maintenance of the border facilities, including environmental contamination.
Citing national security concerns, the permits also authorize the federal government to take control of the border facilities if necessary.
The Michigan presidential permit does not apply to Enbridge’s proposed Great Lakes Tunnel, a 4-mile structure planned to house twin pipelines under the Straits of Mackinac, and which is the subject of litigation.
