Enbridge gets U.S. approval for pipeline to midwest

CALGARY – Enbridge Inc. has received U.S. approvals for its Alberta Clipper pipeline, which will carry oilsands crude to the U.S. midwest.

The U.S. State Department said Wednesday it has granted a permit to the Calgary-based pipeline company to build the U.S. portion of the line, allowing construction to begin.

When the $3.7-billion pipeline is completed in about a year, it will ship 450,000 barrels of bitumen a day to Superior, Wis., with the potential to reach 800,000 barrels a day.

The product will then be rerouted from Wisconsin to refineries in Illinois and on to the main storage hub in Cushing, Okla.

The line has created controversy on both sides of the border, as Alberta critics have complained the line will potentially drain investment and upgrading jobs to the U.S., while American environmental groups argue the pipeline will bring greenhouse-gas intensive oilsands crude from Canada.

The Canadian segment of the Enbridge pipeline – which runs from the hub of Hardisty, through Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the U. S. border – has a price tag around $2.4 billion and has been under construction since last summer. The U.S. portion is expected to cost about $1.2 billion.

lschmidt@theherald.canwest.com