Enbridge Energy, Enbridge Income Fund complete expansion of crude oil Bakken pipeline

US-based Enbridge Energy Partners and Canadian company Enbridge Income Fund have announced the completion of the Bakken Pipeline Expansion Project.

Enbridge Partners and Enbridge Funds together reversed and expanded an existing pipeline, extending from Berthold in North Dakota, US to Steelman in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Bakken pipeline expansion project included extending an existing pipeline by another 124km and 16in from a new terminal near Steelman to the Enbridge Pipelines mainline terminal near Cromer in the province of Manitoba, Canada.

The pipeline project will have a capacity of 145,000 barrels per day (bpd) to address the growing production in Bakken formation and Three Forks formation in Montana, North Dakota, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Enbridge Income Fund Holdings president John Whelen said in the last five years, the company for the third time has undertaken an expansion project to meet the growing production in the Bakken region and enable the producers to access the US market.

“This latest expansion, which is predominately underwritten by take or pay contracts, represents another attractive and stable source of distributable cash flow for the Fund,” Whelen added.

The companies have already secured 100,000bpd commitments from anchor shippers. The crude oil pipeline expansion project is now complete and operational.