Enbridge’s existing Christina lake lateral and terminal facilities include two 8-inch lateral lines plus 240,000 barrels of tankage, and connect the enhanced oil project to Enbridge’s Athabasca Pipeline.
The Athabasca Pipeline, together with the Waupisoo Pipeline and associated lateral and terminal facilities, constitute Enbridge’s Regional Oil Sands System delivering crude oil from five producing oil sands projects to the Hardisty and Edmonton mainline hubs.
The additional Christina lake facilities will include two 375,000 barrel tanks and 26km of 30-inch diameter pipeline, and will readily accommodate the current and planned future expansions of the Christina lake enhanced oil project.
Patrick Daniel, president and CEO of Enbridge, said: “The expansion of the Christina Lake enhanced oil project, following our securement of the Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil Kearl contract last year, provides further confirmation of the sustainable growth in oil sands production and regional pipeline infrastructure which we expect over the next decade.”
The 540km (335-mile), 30-inch (762-mm) diameter Athabasca Pipeline, is designed to transport crude oil from the Athabasca region of Alberta, south to the Enbridge Mainline at Hardisty. The pipeline originates at Enbridge’s Athabasca Terminal, adjacent to Suncor’s upgrader just north of Fort McMurray. The Athabasca Terminal contains approximately 2.7 million barrels of tankage.
The 378-km (235-mile), 30-inch (762-mm) diameter Waupisoo Pipeline came into service on June 1, 2008. The Waupisoo Pipeline originates at the Cheecham Terminal (100km south of Fort McMurray), interconnects with the Athabasca Pipeline, and moves volumes south to the Enbridge Terminal in Edmonton.
Over time, additional receipt points and laterals have been added to Enbridge’s Regional Oil Sands System to accommodate injections into the Waupisoo and Athabasca pipelines from the Christina lake, MacKay river, Surmont and Long lake oil sands projects.
