Judge orders Enbridge Line 5 pipeline shut again after damage

Houston — A Michigan judge ordered June 25 that Enbridge to shut its Line 5 crude and NGL pipeline after damage to the system's support structure was identified last week.

Enbridge had restarted the reportedly undamaged western leg of the dual pipeline system during the weekend against the wishes of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who took legal action with the state attorney general seeking to have it shut again.

Ingham County Circuit Court Judge James Jamo ruled that both the west and east be closed for now until there's a court hearing to further consider the state's preliminary injunction request.

The 67-year-old pipeline, which Enbridge is proposing to replace as part of a hotly debated project, helps transport up to 540,000 b/d of NGLs and crude from Western Canada to various US hubs and Eastern Canada. The 645-mile line stretches from Wisconsin through Michigan and into Ontario and is part of Enbridge's larger Mainline and Lakehead systems.

Line 5 in the Great Lakes' Straits of Mackinac relies on two, parallel 20-inch pipelines that stretch nearly five miles across the lakebed.

"Since the risk of harm to the Great Lakes and various communities and businesses that rely on the Great Lakes would be not only substantial but also in some respects irreparable," Jamo ruled in his court order, "this court grants a temporary restraining order against the defendants' continued operation of the West Line until a hearing on the state's request for preliminary injunction and further related court order."

Jamo cited the state's duty to protect public trust lands, and Enbridge's delayed response in submitting all relevant data and documentation to the state.

Enbridge had used remotely operated vehicles and divers to inspect the pipeline system after a damaged anchor support was detected. This impacted anchor support lies about 150 feet from a section of the pipeline where damage to the coating was discovered in late May. The cause of the damage remains unknown.

Another closure "most likely" leads to some backing up of Canadian sweet crudes. Canada's Mixed Sweet, which had traded at WTI CMA minus $4.45/b before the news, weakened to WTI CMA minus $5/b after the news, one source said. Heavy Western Canadian Select also weakened slightly and was last heard to trade at WTI CMA minus $9.30/b, 30 cents/b lower compared with the June 24 assessment of WTI CMA minus $9/b.

Line 5 primarily carries light crudes and NGLs, "but usually when there is an issue like this, all grades come off," one trader said.

Enbridge did not immediately respond to requests for comment on June 25, but Whitmer was quick to praise the judge's ruling.

A Democrat who took office last year, Whitmer has opposed the project for environmental and safety reason, while Michigan's previous, Republican governor supported it.

"Enbridge's decision to continue pumping crude oil through the Straits of Mackinac with so many unanswered questions was reckless and unacceptable," Whitmer said in a statement. "Enbridge owes a duty to the people of Michigan and must answer to the state for how it treats our Great Lakes."

Future in doubt

This spring, Enbridge filed permits to begin construction next year on the replacement of part of the Line 5 pipeline that would run through a utility tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac. The permit applications to the state of Michigan and the US Army Corps of Engineers come after Michigan sued last year to decommission the pipeline out of concerns that a leak could trigger devastating environmental damage to the Great Lakes.

Enbridge has argued the replacement project is the most practical and safest, long-term solution for delivering oil and NGLs to the region. It plans to complete the Line 5 replacement project by 2024, including the nearly four-mile tunnel segment under the Straits of Mackinac.

But the project's future is very much in doubt, with greater scrutiny of Enbridge in Michigan since the significant 2010 oil spill from a separate company pipeline along the Kalamazoo River.