By Edward Welsch
CALGARY, Alberta--The Canadian government on Friday approved
Enbridge Inc.'s (ENB) proposal to reverse the flow of its Line 9
oil pipeline from Sarnia to Westover in Ontario.
The reversal will allow Enbridge customer Imperial Oil Ltd.
(IMO) to feed its Nanticoke refinery with cheaper crude oil stocks
from western Canada.
It is also the first stage in Enbridge's plan to reverse the
Line 9 pipeline all the way to Montreal, so that refineries there
including one operated by Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) could also
replace their current higher-cost imported crude oil feedstocks
with western Canadian oil.
Some environmental groups and citizens opposed the reversal at
public hearings in May, saying they didn't want the pipeline's
reversal to support the growth of the oil sands industry in Western
Canada.
Enbridge said in May the full Line 9 reversal could ship up to
240,000 barrels a day to Montreal by early 2014.
Write to Edward Welsch at edward.welsch@dowjones.com
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