Canada demands US court block shutdown of Line 5 oil pipeline
Canada asks US court to block shutdown of Line 5 pipeline
Canada petitioned a US federal court on Tuesday to block a Michigan state order to shut down a cross-border pipeline that supplies half of the oil to its eastern provinces.
"Line 5 is essential to our energy security," Canadian National Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan said in a statement. He warned that "the shutdown of Line 5 ordered by Michigan would have immediate and severe adverse impacts in Canada," causing job losses and gas shortages.
Meanwhile, the top US fuel pipeline, which has been disabled by a cyberattack for six days, sent workers to manually release some stored supplies on Wednesday as fuel shortages across the Southeast worsened and motorists fumed.
A ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline on Friday halted 2.5 million barrels per day of fuel shipments in the most disruptive cyberattack on US energy infrastructure.
The operator of the privately owned Colonial Pipeline manually opened portions of the line to release needed supplies in Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey and the Carolinas. It has accepted 2 million barrels of fuel to begin a restart that would "substantially" restore operation by week's end, the company said.
The supply crunch, amid panic buying by motorists, has brought long lines and high prices at gas stations ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend at the end of May, which traditionally marks the start of the peak summer driving season.
Nearly a third of gas stations in metro Atlanta, Georgia and in Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina, were without fuel, tracking firm GasBuddy said. The average price for regular gasoline rose to $2.99 a gallon, the highest since 2014.
Earlier Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he raised the Line 5 issue with US President Joe Biden, remarking that "the energy cooperation and partnership between Canada and the US is good for citizens on both sides of our border."
In this aerial image taken with a drone, numerous vehicles line up for gasoline at Costco on Wendover Avenue in Greensboro, N.C., on Tuesday. Photo: VCG
The third-party brief filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Michigan said Canadian operator Enbridge and the US state - which are in mediation over the Line 5 conduit - must be given time to reach a negotiated resolution."Line 5 is essential to our energy security," Canadian National Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan said in a statement. He warned that "the shutdown of Line 5 ordered by Michigan would have immediate and severe adverse impacts in Canada," causing job losses and gas shortages.
Meanwhile, the top US fuel pipeline, which has been disabled by a cyberattack for six days, sent workers to manually release some stored supplies on Wednesday as fuel shortages across the Southeast worsened and motorists fumed.
A ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline on Friday halted 2.5 million barrels per day of fuel shipments in the most disruptive cyberattack on US energy infrastructure.
The operator of the privately owned Colonial Pipeline manually opened portions of the line to release needed supplies in Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey and the Carolinas. It has accepted 2 million barrels of fuel to begin a restart that would "substantially" restore operation by week's end, the company said.
The supply crunch, amid panic buying by motorists, has brought long lines and high prices at gas stations ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend at the end of May, which traditionally marks the start of the peak summer driving season.
Nearly a third of gas stations in metro Atlanta, Georgia and in Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina, were without fuel, tracking firm GasBuddy said. The average price for regular gasoline rose to $2.99 a gallon, the highest since 2014.
Earlier Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he raised the Line 5 issue with US President Joe Biden, remarking that "the energy cooperation and partnership between Canada and the US is good for citizens on both sides of our border."
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