Enbridge Inc, Canada’s largest pipeline company, said it will withdraw its regulatory applications pending with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission for the Sandpiper Pipeline Project.
The long-planned and often-delayed Sandpiper pipeline project will be put on hold until crude oil production in North Dakota recovers sufficiently to support the pipeline’s capacity, Enbridge said on Thursday in a statement.
This comes against the backdrop of a dramatic decline in oil prices that has weighed on production in North Dakota’s Bakken play.
The company also said its $1.5 billion investment or 27.6 percent stake in the Bakken pipeline system, will be jointly funded 75 percent by Enbridge and 25 percent by subsidiary Enbridge Energy Partners.
The Enbridge-Marathon Petroleum Corp joint venture will pay $2 billion to Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco Logistics Partners for a 49 percent stake in the holding company that owns 75 percent of the system.
Phillips 66 owns the remaining 25 percent of the Bakken Pipeline System. Once in operation, Sunoco Logistics will be the pipeline operator.
SEP