Enbridge Inc. announced Friday that it has initiated discussions with its customers to expand its Mainline pipeline network. 

The expansion aims to accommodate the increasing volumes of Canadian oil production.

“We've commenced commercial discussions with the industry,” Colin Gruending, president of liquids pipelines for Enbridge, told analysts during a conference call, adding that the company had “spent the quarter engineering the expansion."

While specific cost estimates are yet to be determined, Gruending indicated that the expansion could be operational as early as 2026 or 2027. He emphasized the expansion would be relatively minor, adding incremental capacity to the existing network, which has undergone multiple expansions over its 75-year history.

Enbridge’s Mainline system, the largest pipeline system in North America, transports crude oil from Western Canada to markets in Eastern Canada and the U.S. Midwest.

Despite initial predictions that the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion might impact the mainline network, this has not materialized. 

Enbridge anticipates its full-year average volume on the Mainline network surpassing three million barrels per day in 2024, only slightly below the 3.1 million barrels achieved in 2023 amid the increasing production and export of Canadian oil. 

In 2023, Canadian crude oil production reached a record high of 5.1 million barrels per day, fueled by increased production in anticipation of the Trans Mountain expansion. This year, analysts estimate that production could further increase by up to 500,000 barrels per day on average.

According to Statistics Canada, Canadian crude exports reached a record high of four million barrels per day in 2023 and continue to rise. 

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration also reveals that Canadian crude exports to the United States hit a record 4.3 million barrels per day in July 2024, following the start-up of the Trans Mountain project.

The surge in production has been so substantial that Enbridge reported apportionment on the Mainline system in July, August, and November. This phenomenon is characterized by higher demand for uncontracted pipeline space exceeding available capacity.

“I don’t know if I could see apportionment every month going forward here, but seasonally, I think you’re going to see a lot of demand for the Mainline,” Gruending concluded.