Great Lakes Pipeline Adds Heat to U.S.-Canada Energy Tensions

01/20/2021

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Vipal Monga | Wall Street Journal

TORONTO—Canadian and U.S. officials are at odds over the fate of a pipeline underneath the Great Lakes, exacerbating disagreements over energy policy between the two nations as the Biden administration prepares to take office.

Citing environmental concerns, Michigan state officials have told Enbridge Inc. to close its Line 5 pipeline, which carries more than half a million barrels of oil and natural gas liquids each day from Superior, Wis., to Sarnia, Ontario. Canadian officials say closing the pipeline would choke off more than half of the supply used to make gasoline, jet fuel and home-heating oil for the most populous parts of the country. The 645-mile pipeline, which is part of Enbridge’s mainline system that conveys oil and natural gas liquids from Alberta, feeds refineries in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario and Quebec.

“Pipelines are so vital to the economy and the recovery,” said Chris Bloomer, president of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, a trade group. “We’re hoping for some pragmatism.”

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