"Canadian Oil Will Take New Route Across U.S."

"OTTAWA — Canada’s energy producers received a rare boost in their efforts to expand the market for oil sands bitumen on Thursday when the country’s National Energy Board approved the reversal of a Canadian pipeline.

The decision will allow diluted bitumen and conventional oil from Canada’s west to travel across the United States through pipelines owned by Enbridge to the border at Sarnia, Ontario. From there, Enbridge will take it to refineries in Quebec through a reversed pipeline known as Line 9.

The change will allow refineries that rely on overseas oil in Montreal, where the pipeline ends, and Quebec City to use both conventional oil and oil sands bitumen from Western Canada. The ruling comes at a time when Enbridge’s rival, TransCanada, is struggling to get approval from the Obama administration for its Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry oil sands production to the Gulf Coast. Enbridge also is in negotiations with native groups over a new oil sands pipeline to the west coast of Canada."

Ian Austen reports for the New York Times March 6, 2014.