Trump Signs Nine Enbridge Pipeline Permits, Authorizing New 24-Inch Bakken Crossing at the Canadian Border

President Donald Trump signed nine presidential permits on April 15 authorizing Enbridge-affiliated companies to operate, maintain, and in one case construct new cross-border oil pipeline infrastructure on the U.S.-Canada border, according to permits published in the Federal Register on Monday and released through presidential actions posted by the White House.

Eight of the nine permits are renewals that supersede prior authorizations issued between 1991 and 2008. The ninth — the only new construction authorization — clears the way for Bakken Pipeline Company LP to build a 24-inch diameter pipeline across the international border in Burke County, North Dakota, near Portal.

The new authorization

The Bakken Pipeline permit authorizes the company to "construct, connect, operate, and maintain" a new 24-inch pipeline at the Burke County crossing. The same document allows the permittee to change "the average daily throughput capacity of the Border facilities to any volume of products that is achievable through the Border facilities, and to the directional flow of any such products" without needing further presidential approval.

The permit authorizes transport of crude oil and every category of refined petroleum product — including naphtha, LPG, natural gas liquids, jet fuel, gasoline, kerosene, and diesel — but excludes natural gas.

Energy analysts at Plainview Energy described the 24-inch Bakken crossing as the piece of infrastructure "likely needed if [Mainline Optimization 2] is to achieve its full 250,000 barrels per day capacity." Mainline Optimization 2 is Enbridge's plan to shift light crude off its Mainline system and onto the Dakota Access Pipeline via a new Bakken connection.

The eight renewals

The other eight permits refresh existing authorizations across three states and three Enbridge entities. Each supersedes an older permit while allowing the permittee to change throughput capacity and flow direction without further White House approval:

• Enbridge Pipelines (Southern Lights) L.L.C. — 20-inch line at Neche, Pembina County, North Dakota. Supersedes a June 10, 2008 permit.
• Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership (three lines) — 26-inch, 34-inch, and 18-inch lines crossing at Pembina County, North Dakota. Supersedes a December 12, 1991 permit.
• Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership (Neche) — Additional line at Pembina County.
• Enbridge Energy Company, Inc. (Michigan) — St. Clair County, Michigan border crossing.
• Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership (Michigan) — Second St. Clair County permit.

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) retains day-to-day regulatory authority over the facilities. The permits require each permittee to indemnify the United States against any liability "arising out of operation or maintenance" of the border facilities.

Why presidential permits

Pipelines that cross a U.S. international land border require a presidential permit under Executive Order 13337, which routes the approval through the State Department before the president signs. The Obama administration used this authority to block the original Keystone XL permit in 2015, which was then granted by Trump in 2017, rescinded by Joe Biden on his first day in office in 2021, and effectively killed when TC Energy canceled the project. The Enbridge permits signed this week follow the established Executive Order 13337 process and cover cross-border infrastructure already in operation — with the Bakken Pipeline Company permit as the single new build.

Enbridge Inc., the Canadian parent of each permittee, operates the largest crude oil pipeline network between Canada and the United States, moving roughly two-thirds of Canadian crude exports to U.S. markets.