South Portland-Montreal pipeline might close
The pipeline that has been sending crude oil from Portland Harbor to Montreal for nearly 75 years may completely fall out of use by the start of 2016.
The Portland Press Herald reported that a major pipeline reversal project in Canada will be completed in December, potentially making the South Portland-Montreal pipeline obsolete.
The use of the pipeline has been dwindling over the last decade, dropping from 160 million barrels of crude oil in 2004 to 33 million in 2014, according to the Press Herald. But the imminent completion of the project that will reverse the direction of an Ontario-Montreal pipeline to go from west to east has led to speculation that the owner of Portland Pipe Line Corp. and its South Portland facility will shut down the 236-mile line to Montreal.
That would mean less oil tankers stopping in Portland Harbor, leading to less work for the various businesses providing services to the harbor. It could also lead to the loss of more than 30 jobs at Portland Pipe Line, the Press Herald reported.
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