Enbridge eyes California, Far East for oil sands exports

Gary Park, Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

Enbridge Inc., Canada’s second largest pipeline company, is close to completing a study that could lead to 400,000 barrels per day of Alberta oil sands production landing in California and the Far East.

Provided it can team up with a producer, Enbridge is ready to consider a C$3 billion pipeline to a tanker port at a location yet to be identified on the British Columbia coast.

The so-called Gateway Project study is exploring shipments of at least 300,000 barrels per day to California, which has a market of 1.1 million barrels per day for heavy oil, but is faced with declining domestic supplies.

The remaining 100,000 barrels per day could be shipped to the Far East in tankers with capacity of 1 million barrels, taking advantage of the fact that British Columbia is 2,500 miles closer to Japan and Korea than the Middle East.

Enbridge, which is counting on continued expansion of the oil sands, has indicated it could start work next year on project development that would take up to five years to complete.

Chief executive officer Pat Daniel told a conference call in January that, with the Kyoto Protocol clouds dispersing, the oil sands will be Enbridge’s primary growth driver in coming years. “The supply side of the question looks very, very strong,” he said.