• Enbridge plans to expand Mainline and Flanagan South pipelines by 250,000 bpd
• Canadian oil production reached 5.1 million bpd last year, with further growth expected
• Alberta exploring new pipeline to BC coast for Asian market access; no private sector commitment

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge (ENB.TO) , opens new tab on Friday approved $1.4 billion in expansion projects for its Mainline and Flanagan South pipelines to the U.S., which it stressed is the most logical destination for new crude export capacity out of Canada.

The projects will add a combined 250,000 barrels per day of capacity for Canadian heavy oil shippers moving oil to the U.S. Midwest and Gulf Coast. The additional capacity is expected to come online in 2027.

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Calgary-based Enbridge also announced last week its plans early next year to formally gauge commercial interest in a second phase of expansion on its Mainline network, which could add another 250,000 bpd of capacity.

Although the government of Canada, which sends 90% of its oil exports to the U.S., is trying to diversify away from that market due to unpredictable trade policies under President Donald Trump, Enbridge Executive Vice-President Colin Gruending told reporters that U.S. expansion makes the most sense.

"That's where we've got the world's biggest refining complex and who wants more of our Canadian oil," he said.

"The opportunity set is pretty strong (to the) south, and there are all kinds of geopolitical reasons to do that and strengthen ties there."

Canadian oil production hit a record 5.1 million bpd last year and Enbridge is forecasting it will see 500,000 to 600,000 bpd of supply growth by the end of the decade.

The country's main oil-producing province of Alberta is working to explore the feasibility of a new crude pipeline to British Columbia's northwest coast, in order to increase Canadian oil exports to Asia.

While Enbridge is supporting Alberta's work with advice and technical support, neither it nor any other private company has committed to building a new pipeline to Canada's west coast.

The Trans Mountain pipeline, which is owned by the Canadian government and is currently the only option to ship Canadian oil directly to Asian markets, tripled its capacity last year with a C$34 billion ($24.2 billion) expansion.

Trans Mountain's operator is exploring a series of incremental expansion projects, which could add 200,000 to 300,000 bpd by 2029.

Those projects, combined with Enbridge's planned expansions to the U.S., should provide enough capacity growth to account for forecast Canadian supply increases through the end of the decade, Gruending said.

If the Canadian government scraps some regulatory and policy hurdles that have inhibited the sector's growth in recent years, Gruending said, supply could grow more than forecast. But in that case, he said, Enbridge has the ability to take on additional Mainline expansions which would take priority over a new pipeline to the country's west coast.

"Our view at this time is south first, then west," he said.

Enbridge's Mainline pipeline shipped a record 3.1 million bpd on average in the third quarter.

($1 = 1.4024 Canadian dollars)

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/enbridge-approves-14-billion-project-boost-canadian-oil-flows-us-refiners-2025-11-14/