Bakken pipeline reversal completed

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HOUSTON, March 5 (UPI) -- Pipeline company Enbridge announced it completed the reversal of flow in its Bakken oil pipeline system from North Dakota to Saskatchewan.

Enbridge Energy Partners announced its Bakken pipeline expansion project was complete and the pipeline is in service.

The company noted that oil production from the Bakken play in North Dakota has the potential to reach 1.2 million barrels per day within six years. The expansion reversed the pipeline so it runs from Berthold, N.D., to Steelman, Saskatchewan.

"This is the third expansion project we have undertaken in the last five years to meet the needs of Saskatchewan producers and enable growing production from the Bakken region to access key U.S. markets," John Whelen, president of Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc., said in a statement.

Refinery companies in the United States have turned to rail to deliver crude oil because of a lack of pipeline infrastructure. U.S. oil production is at a historic high in part because of new technologies used to extract oil and natural gas from shale deposits.

The Association of American Railroads reported in February that crude oil delivery by rail surged 256 percent from their 2011 levels.