Work to start on Alberta Clipper project

Work on the Alberta Clipper crude oil pipeline project will begin in mid-August, say Enbridge Inc. officials. “We’ve got pipe coming in and yards are filling up, equipment is rolling in,” said Lorraine Grymala, Enbridge manager of community affairs/major projects, in a report issued by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. “We’re just waiting on a few remaining permits, and then we’ll set a firm kick-off date [in] August.” Alberta Clipper calls for the installation of 1,000 miles of 36-in. pipe from northern Canada to Superior, Wisconsin. Some 326 miles will be installed in the United States.

Running parallel to that will be another 20-in. pipeline called Southern Lights. Some 188 miles of that line will be constructed in 2009. Southern Lights is being built in segments, with the line now completed from Chicago to Superior. This year’s 188-mi segment will take it to the Canadian border. In all, Southern Lights is a $2.2-billion project with a capacity of 180,000 bpd.

The Alberta Clipper project’s 326 miles in the United States is a $1.2-billion project, Grymala said. “Up and down the line, for the 326-mi segment, we expect to employ about 3,000 workers,” she said. “We’re doing the construction in six spreads, and each spread has its own crew, which is 350 to 500 people per crew.” Two crews, or spreads, will operate out of Bemidji, Minnesota, for the two pipelines, she said. The contractor for the Bemidji area is U.S. Pipeline of Houston, Texas. The contractor north of Clearbrook is Michels of Brownsville, Wisconsin; and from Deer River to Superior is Precision Pipeline of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.