Enbridge seeks Canadian Government support for Line 5 pipeline project

Enbridge has reportedly sought the Canadian Government to support the Line 5 oil pipeline project that has been blocked by the US state of Michigan.

Running under the Straits of Mackinac where Lake Huron meets Lake Michigan, the Line 5 dual pipelines supply 540,000 barrels per day of light crude oil and propane. It caters to the regions of Michigan and Ohio.

In November 2020, Michigan Governor Whitmer and Department of Natural Resources (DNR) director Dan Eichinger notified Enbridge of revoking and terminating the 1953 easement that allows the company to operate the Line 5 pipelines, citing the company’s failure to protect the US Great Lakes.

Enbridge liquids pipelines executive vice-president Vern Yu was cited by Reuters as saying to a federal parliamentary committee that the company, in order to keep Line 5 project operating, is also seeking Canada’s support for its filings in the US federal court on project.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer last year ordered the company to cease operations of the Line 5 pipeline by May 2021 over concerns of possible oil leak from the project’s 6.4km section, which runs along the lakebed of the Straits of Mackinac.

In response, Enbridge proposed to build underwater tunnel with an investment of $500m to protect the pipeline beneath the Straits.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was cited by Reuters as saying that the government would consider all options, including invoking the 1977 Transit Pipelines Treaty, required to keep Line 5 operating.

Vern Yu added: “We request the government of Canada use every pathway to assert that Line 5 is an important binational pipeline protected by the treaty, whose shutdown would have grave impacts for both the United States and Canada.”