The National Energy Board (NEB) will allow Enbridge Pipelines Inc. (ticker: ENB) to replace a 2.5 km segment of its Line 21 Norman Wells Pipeline located in the Northwest Territory of Canada. Enbridge applied to the NEB on March 10, 2017 after identifying a potential safety concern related to a shifting slope on the Mackenzie River.
ENB Line 21 Replacement Project
The approval includes Enbridge’s plan to leave the section of pipe that is being replaced under the Mackenzie River. The section of pipe that is to be left behind will be cleaned, filled with grout and capped – in accordance with NEB regulations and CSA standards.
The new pipe will be installed using a trenchless crossing method called horizontal directional drilling (HDD).
The NEB held a hearing in Fort Simpson, Canada in October 2017 to review the application. During the hearing, the NEB heard from Enbridge, six intervenors and nine commenters including: Indigenous groups, local governments, Imperial Oil Resources N.W.T. Limited and the Government of the Northwest Territories. The NEB carried out an environmental assessment of the project and found that the project was not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects.
Quick facts
- The estimated cost of the project is approximately $53,000,000
- The NEB initially provided $100,000 to support meaningful participation in the hearing. However, after considering the four applications for participant funding that were submitted, the NEB increased the amount of available participant funding to $210,196
- As this project falls under section 58 of the National Energy Board Act and section 45.1 of the Onshore Pipeline Regulations, the NEB is the final decision maker
