HOUSTON -- Enbridge Energy Partners LP said on Tuesday that its Sandpiper and Line 3 replacement pipeline projects have been delayed to 2019 from 2017 to allow for completion of environmental reviews and further permitting in Minnesota.
Enbridge Inc's U.S. arm also said costs of both projects will be higher, but did not disclose amounts.
The 616-mile, $2.6 billion Sandpiper project involves two new pipeline legs that stretch from North Dakota through Minnesota, then to Wisconsin.
The company originally planned for startup early this year, then pushed it to 2017 after Minnesota regulators ordered a state environmental review that would examine alternate routes for that state's portion of the project.
U.S. refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp in 2013 agreed to pay 37.5 percent of Sandpiper's construction costs in exchange for a 27 percent interest in Enbridge's North Dakota pipeline system.
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The Line 3 replacement involves swapping 1,031 miles of 34-inch pipeline with new 36-inch pipeline that would push capacity to 760,000 bpd from an average of 390,000 bpd. The North Dakota-Minnesota-Wisconsin portion of the $7.5 billion that connects Edmonton, Alberta, to Superior, Wis. was estimated to be $2.6 billion.
Enbridge said Minnesota regulators require that final environmental reviews be finished for each project before the company can move on to seek other permits.
