Canada’s Oil Sands

On any single day, Enbridge is the single largest conduit of oil into the U.S., exporting 71% of western Canadian crude oil, and satisfying 12% of the U.S.'s crude oil import needs.

The opportunity

With about 174 billion barrels of combined conventional and oil sands established reserves, Canada ranks second only to Saudi Arabia in global oil reserves.

Of that total, 170 billion barrels are concentrated in Alberta's oil sands deposits, making them the largest resource play in the world.

Today, the oil sands produce over one million barrels of oil per day, and it is estimated that by 2020, production will grow to about four million barrels.

Enbridge's Regional Oil Sands System

Both our Athabasca and Waupisoo pipelines are designed for low-cost expansion from their current combined capacity of 695,000 bpd to 1,170,000 bpd—ready for oil sands growth.

Enbridge is there

Enbridge is the largest pipeline operator in the oil sands region.

Our 345,000-barrels-per-day (bpd) Athabasca Pipeline, which runs through the heart of the oil sands to Hardisty, currently has four oil sands projects connected to it and has an ultimate design capacity of 570,000 bpd with the addition of new pump stations.

Our 350,000-bpd Waupisoo Pipeline, which went into service in 2008, connects three new oil sands projects to refineries and upgraders at Edmonton. It is expandable to 600,000 bpd by adding pump stations.

We're growing

Enbridge is actively pursuing many significant growth opportunities to connect new oil sands production through expansion of our existing systems and the construction of new pipelines.

We are building on our very strong competitive position in the region, which stems from our proven track record for on-time, on-budget development and the economies of scale of being the largest operator.