This Week's Program: Enbridge Energy

But first, he wanted to meet us and asked us to introduce ourselves and say where we work. In his presentation, Todd said Enbridge has been in Carlton County for 65 years, with offices in Duluth and Superior employing about 800 people in the Twin Ports. He showed us a map of Enbridge's assets in North America, where pipelines are the company's main business. Enbridge is in the transportation business, not the oil business, since they transport oil by pipeline from place to place. Safety is the cornerstone of their business. Todd passed around aheavy piece of pipe to show how it prevents corrosion. The orange pipeline markers have phone numbers on them to call for help if there's a problem. Helicopters patrol the grounds to prevent or respond to problems. Then we saw a map of Minnesota showing the pipeline route from northwest to Superior. Between Clearbrook and Superior a bigger pipeline is proposed called the Sandpiper Project. North Dakota oil would go through this proposed pipeline. In the same Right of Way a second large pipeline is also proposed, called Line 3. This would bring Canadian oil to Superior. The old pipeline is too small for the future demands and lies under some towns that have grown large. The new pipelines would go near Bemidji. The new route being assessed has had a 4 year delay, but Enbridge hopes to have it ready by 2019. Pipelines replace thousand of trucks currently needed to transport oil. The benefits of pipelines include supporting local businesses, adding about 840 employees, paying property taxes, and making an investment in infrastructure. After the presentation, Todd answered questions until we ran out of time. We all learned more about this important industry thanks to Todd Olson.