Alberta's energy watchdog has approved a proposal by Enbridge to ship more oilsands crude from Fort McMurray to the Edmonton area.
The 385-kilometre Woodland pipeline extension project would start delivering crude by 2014, according to Enbridge's website. Enbridge says additional pipeline capacity will be needed to accommodate the growing crude volumes it expects to flow out of the region in the coming years.
The line would run parallel to other existing ones in the region, where Enbridge is the dominant crude transporter and has a number of projects on the go.
The company's application also includes two pump stations along the route.
The pipeline is designed to carry 400,000 barrels per day of diluted bitumen that doesn't contain hydrogen sulphide, a dangerous gas.
The ERCB says there were many objections to the project, most of which were withdrawn once Enbridge changed the proposed route of the pipeline.
It says all objections were resolved once hearings began in June, except for one from someone whose land was on the original proposed route.
Enbridge wants to build a $6-billion pipeline connecting oilsands crude to a West Coast port so the oil can be shipped to energy-hungry Asian countries.
A National Energy Board and Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency panel is in the midst of weighing the Northern Gateway proposal, which faces fierce opposition in British Columbia.
