CALGARY – The National Energy Board has ordered Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB) to stop work along an oil pipeline in Manitoba because of safety and environmental concerns.
The federal energy watchdog says an inspection earlier this month on the company’s Line 3 pipeline, which runs between Alberta and Wisconsin, revealed numerous problems.
It says wetlands and agricultural land near Cromer, Man., were damaged and open excavations posed safety hazards.
Enbridge announced plans earlier this year to replace Line 3 in its entirety — a $7.5-billion undertaking that would be the largest project in the company’s history.
Company spokesman Graham White says the stop-work order was not related to that project, but to regular maintenance work on the existing 46-year-old pipeline.
White says the company has already started working on some of the issues raised by the NEB and that safety concerns will be dealt with immediately.