Enbridge Energy Partners L.P. and Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc., affiliates of Enbridge Inc.(collectively "Enbridge") reported a second Open Season for the Bakken Expansion Program in conjunction with an Open Season for EEP's proposed Sanish Pipeline. The Sanish Pipeline will transport crude oil production from Johnson's Corner to Beaver Lodge, North Dakota. The Bakken Expansion Program Open Season will offer pipeline capacity on Enbridge's system from Beaver Lodge into Enbridge's terminal at Cromer, Manitoba where it connects with the Enbridge Mainline System, which offers access to refineries throughout the Upper Midwest, eastern Canada, Mid-Continent and as far as the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The two open seasons are being conducted jointly to provide shippers with the option of contracting for capacity from Johnson's Corner to Enbridge's Beaver Lodge and Berthold Stations as well as to Cromer.

EEP's proposed Sanish Pipeline is a new 36-mile, 12" crude oil line capable of transporting a minimum 67,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Johnson's Corner into EEP's existing facilities at Beaver Lodge. The Bakken Expansion Program, currently under construction by EEP in the US and by Enbridge Income Fund in Canada, will provide a total of 145,000 barrels per day (bpd) of incremental pipeline capacity from Beaver Lodge to Cromer when it comes into service in Q1 2013. At Berthold, EEP is constructing a new 80,000 bpd rail export facility which is planned to be in-service at the same time.

"The Bakken and Three Forks formations have catapulted North Dakota into the position of being one of the leading oil producing states in the U.S. Along with this proposed Sanish Pipeline, we have increased the export capacity of our North Dakota system by almost 350% since 2008," said Stephen J. Wuori, President, Liquids Pipelines, Enbridge. "Sanish provides customers located South of the River with an entrance to Enbridge's expanded systems to access a total of 475,000 bpd of capacity out of North Dakota in 2013. Enbridge is developing other projects that will continue our significant capital investment in this prolific region to provide reliable, economical and secure access to a wide variety of refinery markets, including the US Gulf Coast."

Tags: Enbridge Energy Partners