Enbridge Line 7 Oil Pipeline

This article is part of the Global Fossil Infrastructure Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.

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Enbridge Line 7 Oil Pipeline is a major oil pipeline in the Enbridge Pipeline System that conveys petroleum within Ontario, Canada. The pipeline faced backlash from environmentalists and local communities when the National Energy Board approved a capacity increase in Fall 2013 without a public hearing or stakeholder consultations.

Location

The pipeline originates in Sarnia, Ontario, and terminates in Westover, Canada.

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Project Details

Enbridge Line 7 (yellow line); Map Credit: Enbridge

• Operator: Enbridge
• Owner: Enbridge
• Parent company: Enbridge
• Capacity: 180,000 barrels per day
• Length: 193 km (120 mi)
• Diameter: 20-inches
• Status: Operating
• Start year: 1957
• Cost:
• Financing:
• Associated infrastructure:

Background

In October 2013, the National Energy Board approved an increase in the capacity of Line 7 from 147,000 barrels per day to 180,000 barrels per day without holding any public hearings or consulting landowners. Hamilton, Ontario -- the one municipality in which Line 7 runs through -- was not informed about the proposal to increase the pipeline's capacity until after it received the approval. Enbridge claimed that the city was not affected "in any way" by the capacity increase.

Opposition

In January 2016, protesters adjusted a manual valve to reduce the flow on Line 7 south of Cambridge, resulting in the pipeline being shut down for three hours.

An anonymous account of the event, which also resulted in a shut-off of the Enbrige Line 9 Oil Pipeline, appeared in the Toronto Media Co-op on January 25, 2016. The authors wrote, "we took this action to stand in unity with all those who have defended the land before us, and for those who decide to take action after us. we take it to fight against an industry that puts us at risk every day and subjects frontline communities to violence upon their bodies, communities and cultures - for profit. we believe that’s worth fighting against; that those people and communities are worth fighting for.[sic]"