* Enbridge restarts 2 pipelines, including 670,000 bpd Line
6A
* Line 14 pipeline remains shut, unclear when it will
restart
* Some 1,200 barrels spill from pipeline in Wisconsin
* Canadian company already battling safety concerns on its
line
WASHINGTON/CALGARY, July 28 (Reuters) - The U.S. pipeline
safety agency launched an investigation on Saturday into an oil
spill in Wisconsin on Enbridge Inc's network that
briefly shut much of the company's pipeline system feeding
Canadian crude to the U.S. Midwest.
Enbridge's 318,000 barrel per day Line 14 pipeline, which
carries light sweet Canadian crude to Chicago-area refineries,
was shut on Friday after an estimated 1,200 barrels of oil were
leaked, and the Canadian company said on Saturday it did not
have a restart time for the pipeline yet.
Two pipelines that had also been shut, the 400,000 bpd Line
61 and the 670,000 bpd Line 6A, had been returned to service on
Saturday following the spill, however.
Enbridge said 180,000 bpd Line 13, which carries diluent
from Chicago to Edmonton, Alberta, was also shuttered and would
be restarted once it was confirmed it had not been impacted by
the release.
The cause of the spill, which occurred almost two years to
the day after another major spill in Michigan on a different
section of the system, had yet to be determined but repairs on
Line 14 -- part of the Lakehead pipeline system -- were expected
to begin later in the day.
Enbridge Energy Partners said on Friday there was
not yet a time frame for when flows would resume, and the cause
of the spill had not yet been determined.
"(The U.S. Transportation Department's Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration) is investigating the
cause of the Enbridge crude oil pipeline failure in Wisconsin,"
spokesman Damon Hill said in an email, adding that an inspector
had been sent to the location of the pipeline failure.
Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency were also on sight, Enbridge said. Line 14 is one of four
lines that ship mainly Canadian crude via Lakehead, a 2.5
million bpd network that is the principal route for Canadian
exports.
PREVIOUS SPILLS
The news will not help Enbridge build public trust in its
network, which has come under scrutiny following several
high-profile incidents, including a spill in Alberta last month
and the massive leak in Michigan two years ago.
Just weeks ago, the U.S. National Transportation Safety
Board delivered a scathing report of Enbridge's handling of the
July 2010 rupture of its Line 6B near Marshall, Michigan, which
led to more than 20,000 barrels of crude leaking into the
Kalamazoo River.
The NTSB said it found a complete breakdown of company
safety measures, and that Enbridge employees performed like
"Keystone Kops" trying to contain it. The rupture went
undetected for 17 hours.
U.S. pipeline regulators fined it $3.7 million for the
spill, their largest ever penalty.
The incidents have caused furor just as the company seeks
approval for its C$6 billion Northern Gateway pipeline to
Canada's West Coast from Alberta amid staunch opposition from
environmental groups and native communities that warn against
oil spills on land and in coastal waters.
Enbridge said Line 14 was a 24-inch diameter pipe that was
installed in 1998, making it a relatively new line.
In most cases, smaller pipeline leaks can be repaired
quickly allowing operations to resume pumping, although
regulators may require significant work if they find any cause
for alarm. Following the leak two years ago, the line was shut
for over two months.
No injury was reported on Friday at the line, which is near
Grand Marsh, Wisconsin, Enbridge said.
