In a major blow to the Canadian oil industry, Enbridge Inc. now expects the replacement and expansion of its Line 3 crude oil pipeline to be in service about a year later than expected.
The delay is a crushing setback for Canadian oil producers, who have suffered from a lack of pipeline space that has made it difficult to ship their crude to refineries, hammering prices. Enbridge’s Line 3 is particularly important because the government of the oil-rich province of Alberta was counting on its startup this year to let it end mandated production cuts that were implemented to cope with a glut of crude.