Shares in Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge Inc fell 6 percent on Monday after disclosing an almost yearlong delay to the start of its Line 3 crude oil pipeline, which would carry heavy Canadian oils to the U.S. market.
The delay is another blow to the Canadian oil industry, which has faced bottlenecks in bringing heavy crude to the United States that weighed on Canadian crude prices and prompted the Alberta government to order a cut in production to support oil prices.
Enbridge shares fell to $46.54 apiece on the Calgary-based company’s announcement that it expects the start of construction to fall to the second half of 2020, from its original start of November.
The $9 billion pipeline project would run from Alberta to Wisconsin and connects to pipelines that would carry crude to refineries in the United States. On Friday, the company said the state of Minnesota’s permitting process would end in November and federal permits would be finalized in another 30 to 60 days.
(Reporting by Collin Eaton Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jonathan Oatis)