Enbridge CEO Al Monaco. Image: Enbridge CALGARY — Enbridge Inc. is proposing a fundamental change in how it assigns space on its Mainline pipeline system that will allow up to 90 per cent of its capacity to be reserved for priority customers. The 2.85-million-barrel-per-day network of pipelines, the largest export option for western Canadian producers, operates as a common carrier, where customers nominate the volume of crude they would like to ship each month. Those nominations have exceeded the volume available for much of 2018, leading to “apportioning” or cutbacks in all shipments, which have angered many producers. Oilsands giant Canadian Natural Resources Limited has charged apportioning is a leading cause of the current “dysfunctional” oil market in Western Canada, where a lack of pipeline export space as production rises is blamed for recent steep discounts in oil prices. “We’re seeing pretty good interest in this concept around priority access,” said Enbridge CEO Al Monaco on a webcast from the company’s investor day in New York on Tuesday, adding negotiations with shippers have started in advance of a July 2021 expiry of the current agreement. He said shippers and Enbridge will both get toll and volume certainty if the […]
