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Enbridge, a Canadian oil pipeline company, plans a second phase for the Mainline expansion.

Enbridge announced on Friday that it will gauge formal commercial interest early next year in the second phase of capacity addition on its Mainline crude pipe network.

The Calgary-based pipeline operator, which is based in Canada, said that if the project proceeds, it will add an additional 250,000 barrels of capacity per day to the Mainline by the year 2028. This would help meet the growing demand from Canadian oil shippers for access to export markets.

This project is in addition to the planned first phase expansion. The company will make its final investment decision on this before the end the year. Enbridge stated that the first phase will add 150,000 bpd to capacity, and it is expected to be in service by 2027.

Enbridge's third-quarter profits missed estimates on Friday due to higher financing costs resulting from U.S. Gas Utility acquisitions and capital investments.

The company reported that its Mainline pipeline - which is capable of moving 3 million barrels of crude oil per day from Western Canada to the markets in Eastern Canada, and the U.S. Midwest - shipped an average record 3.1 millions bpd during the third quarter. This was due to the strong demand for Canadian petroleum.

Canada's oil-sands sector has shown resilience in the face of the downturn in the global oil industry. Years of investment have helped to make it one the most cost-effective basins in North America.

Enbridge predicts that the Canadian oil supply will grow by 500,000 to 600,000.

The Canadian government has been in discussions with Alberta, an oil-producing province. Alberta wants a new crude oil pipeline to be built alongside a massive project for carbon capture and storage aimed at reducing emissions from oil sands.

The private sector has not expressed a willingness to build a pipeline of this kind, but on Tuesday the federal government said that it might scrap an existing cap on oil and natural gas emissions for other measures such as a stronger industrial carbon pricing.

Enbridge's Executive Vice President Colin Gruending said that optimizing the Mainline Pipeline is "the fastest and most cost-effective" way to deal with Canada's increasing oil production.

He said that if the Canadian government removes some of the regulatory hurdles and policies that have hindered investment into the sector over the past few years, then even more space for pipelines could be needed.

Gruending stated that there could be a lot more value in the north of Alberta, if it were to be monetized.

Enbridge's liquid pipelines unit reported a core adjusted profit of C$2.31 ($1.65 billion), down from C$2.34 a year ago, mainly due to the lower contributions from Flanagan South & Spearhead Pipelines.

According to LSEG, the company reported an adjusted profit per share of 46 Canadian Cents for the quarter ending September 30. This was below analysts' expectations of 51 Canadian Cents per share.

(source: Reuters)