Canada’s Pipeline Problem Returns as Oil Sands Output Surges

The Canadian oil industry’s two-year reprieve from pipeline bottlenecks may be nearing an end as global crude glut weighs on prices.

Enbridge Inc. rationed the most space on its Mainline pipeline system for February than in any month since March 2024, which was before the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline added almost 600,000 barrels a day of export capacity for Western Canada. Shippers on the Mainline were required to cut the volumes they seek to send by 22% for dense, high-sulfur oil from Alberta’s oil sands and by 24% for light crude, a practice known as apportionment.