Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge has finalised a tolling agreement with oil shippers for its Mainline crude pipeline system.
The company signed the deal after its earlier proposal for long-term contracts was rejected in 2021 by oil producers such as Canadian Natural Resources.
The agreement covers tolls charged on both the US as well as Canadian portions of Enbridge’s Mainline crude pipeline system.
The pipeline system moves nearly three million barrels of oil per day to refineries in eastern Canada and the US Midwest from western Canada.
Enbridge president of Liquids Pipelines Colin Gruending said: “This settlement continues with Enbridge’s track record of working cooperatively with shippers and industry groups, and builds on a 27-year history of similar incentive deals on the Mainline itself.
“This settlement is a win-win-win – customers will continue to receive competitive and responsive service, Enbridge will earn attractive risk-adjusted returns, and the Mainline will continue to feed North America and global markets with a long-term source of safe, secure and affordable energy.”
Enbridge Board of Directors has approved the agreement and has also garnered backing from a 37-member industry group comprising producers, refiners and integrated companies.
Recently, Enbridge brokered a deal to purchase a large underground natural gas storage facility in British Columbia from FortisBC for C$400m ($295.5m). In September 2022, Enbridge agreed to divest an 11.57% interest in seven pipelines in the Athabasca region of northern Alberta, Canada, to a group of 23 indigenous communities in a deal worth C$1.12bn.
