Enbridge Line 3 Faces Dakota Access-Style Opposition

Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline should progress as planned, despite the intense scrutiny it faces in Minnesota as an oil and gas project, according to new reports emerging from the area.

“A lot of the people here are from Standing Rock, and learned a lot about what happens when people stand together, and the power of that, and the creation of a global movement,” says Tara Zhaabowekwe Houska in a Makwa Camp video. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe resisted efforts by Energy Transfer Partners to build a pipeline without a proper environmental evaluation. The effort ultimately failed, allowing the company to build its infrastructure project.

By mid-2019, the Line 3 should be complete, according to the Al Monaco CEO, who spoke to a local news station in Minnesota.

Still, regulators in the state continue to review environmental and regulatory commitments in order to guarantee the health and safety of local citizens.

As reported by the local CTV news, protests against the lines have been on the rise, with commissions cancelling two public hearings in the past week over logistical and public safety issues.

"Line 3 is a key piece of infrastructure that supplies the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast markets, and ultimately it's critical in maintaining low gasoline prices for Americans,” Enbridge says.

Related: Will The Third Great Energy Revolution End The Oil & Gas Industry?

The company’s partner, Monaco, added:

"Putting capital at risk in uncertain environments is something that we're going to be very cautious about, and I'm pretty sure the other pipeline midstream companies would tell you the same thing. I think we've probably seen a switch in the industry over the last few years, where we're going to have to have a proper sharing of the risk before we actually get regulatory permits.”

The uncertain environment of concern refers to three years of oil prices, which have devastated commodities markets and made it difficult for investors to commit to oil and gas ventures – both new and old.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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