Enbridge, the Canadian pipeline operator, in November 2025, went on to approve a US$1.4 billion expansion when it comes to its Mainline and Flanagan South pipelines, which are used to transport the Canadian heavy crude from oil sands to the U.S. Midwest as well as the Gulf Coast.
The project goes on to add an additional capacity and also broadens access to US refineries, hence enhancing the flow of oil sands crude to certain major export outlets.
This investment comes as Enbridge looks to balance liquids growth due to its push into natural gas utilities as well as low-carbon fuels.
Enbridge said that the Mainline Optimization Phase 1 – MLO1 is going to add 150,000 barrels per day to its Mainline network as well as 100,000 bpd to the Flanagan South Pipeline – FSP, with more capacity anticipated to come online in 2027.
According to the president of liquids pipelines from Enbridge, Colin Gruending, MLO1 goes on to add capital efficiency as well as a timely egress from Canada, thereby supporting production growth and also enhancing the connectivity to the best refining markets across North America.
The Mainline pipeline of the company, which happens to be capable of moving 3 million barrels per day of crude coming from Western Canada to Eastern Canada and also the U.S. Midwest, went on to ship a record 3.1 million bpd on average in the 2025 third quarter and hence in a way broadens access to US refineries.
Apparently, MLO1 is going to increase the mainline capacity by way of upstream optimizations as well as terminal upgrades, while Enbridge is also going to add pump stations as well as expand the terminal capacity when it comes to its Flanagan South pipelines.
It is worth noting that the expansion is going to be supported by long-term take-or-pay contracts for the complete route right from Edmonton to Houston.
