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Ribbons of Oil

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U.S. / Canada pipeline

The system of winter storage of crude at Superior and summer ship­ments by tanker to Sarnia soon became inadequate to handle the rapidly growing volume of oil. The decision was made to scrap the terminal at Superior and extend the system to Sarnia. In 1953, additional looping was done along the line between Edmonton and Superior and 645 miles of 30-­inch pipe (at the time North America's largest-diameter crude oil pipe) was laid from Superior across Wisconsin and Michigan to Sarnia. The extension involved the crossing of the Straits of Mackinac between Lakes Michigan and Huron, the deepest underwater pipeline crossing ever attempted, and one of the world's major pipeline construction feats. At the crossing the Straits are nearly 45 miles wide and up to 240 feet deep. Two 20-inch lines made of steel one-inch thick were laid across the Straits.

Looping of the system between Edmonton and Superior continued year by year to provide steadily increasing capacity. In 1956, the line was extended another 156 miles from Sarnia to the outskirts of Toronto where additional refineries could be supplied with western oil. With this exten­sion, the main line of the IPL system stretched 1,930 miles, with an addi­tional 92-mile spur to Buffalo, New York. It was the longest crude oil pipeline in the world.

NOTES:

  1. Canada’s Pipelines (Calgary: Petroleum Communication Foundation, Oct. 2000): “In 1999, it cost roughly $10.38 to move a cubic metre of light oil from Alberta to Sarnia. One cubic metre of oil would fill 1,000 one-litre milk cartons.”
  2. Canada, House of Commons, Debates, Apr. 949.
  3. Ibid.
  4. Ibid.
  5. Toronto Star, Dec. 16, 1949.
  6. Toronto Star, May 25, 1949.
  7. Interprovincial Pipe Line, The Fast Inch (nd).
  8. House of Commons, Debates, Nov. 1949.
  9. Ibid.
  10. Port Arthur News Chronicle, Nov. 2, 1949.
  11. Time, Canadian edition, Oct. 24, 1949.
  12. Imperial Oil Review, Dec./Jan. 1949/50.
  13. Regina Leader Post, Mar 6, 1950.
  14. Oil in Canada, Apr. 30, 1950.
  15. Toronto Star, Oct. 5, 1950.

From The Great Canadian Oil Patch, pgs. 247 to 257, reprinted with kind permission of JuneWarren Publishing and Mr. Earle Gray
 

 
 
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