08.19.13

Hoeven: Enbridge Energy Projects Improve Public Safety

Senator Says New Energy Infrastructure Key Component to Achieving North American Energy Security

BERTHOLD, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today joined Enbridge Company leaders and state and local officials at a ceremony to mark completion of the Bakken Pipeline Expansion project and the Berthold Rail facilities, and to mark the start of the Sandpiper Pipeline project. The Senator cited the new projects as important additions to the state’s oil transportation system and as examples of the infrastructure our nation needs to become energy secure.

“As we close in on producing one million barrels per day of oil, it is clear that North Dakota is a powerhouse for our nation,” Hoeven said. “Additional pipeline and rail capacity will help move our product to market efficiently, take trucks off our roads and improve public safety. But it is also a key component to building our nation’s energy future. Enbridge’s pipeline and rail projects are prime examples of the kinds of infrastructure we need to invest in to make our nation energy secure in the next five to seven years.”

Enbridge’s Bakken Pipeline Expansion added an additional 145,000 barrels per day of capacity out of the Bakken to the Enbridge mainline at Cromer, Manitoba. The expansion went into service on March 1, 2013. The Berthold Rail project is a partnership between Enbridge and the Berthold Farmers Elevator and transports 80,000 barrels per day of Bakken crude via a 118-car unit train.

The 610-mile Sandpiper Pipeline is expected to be online beginning in 2016. The pipeline from Beaver Lodge Station south of Tioga, North Dakota to an existing terminal in Superior, Wisconsin, will have capacity to transport 225,000 barrels per day to Clearbrook, Minnesota and 375,000 barrels per day to Superior, Wisconsin. The project will also include new storage tanks, pumping units and metering facilities.

A member of the Senate Energy Committee, Hoeven is working to build a states-first, all-of-the-above energy policy for the nation, including the Empower States Act, legislation that will put states first in the regulation of hydraulic fracturing.