Trump Issues Presidential Permit for Enbridge's Line 5 Pipeline at Michigan-Ontario Border
Enbridge, the world's largest oil and gas pipeline company by market cap, received a presidential permit from President Donald Trump for its Line 5 pipeline at the St. Clair River crossing between Michigan and Ontario. The Calgary-based firm continues to expand operations across North America, including new pipelines and solar farms for data centers.
Tony Webster / Wikimedia (CC BY 2.0)President Donald Trump issued a presidential permit in April to Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline for the St. Clair River border crossing between Michigan and Ontario, Fortune reported. The permit advances the company's infrastructure projects in the region.
Enbridge’s Line 5 tunnel project in the Great Lakes’ Straits of Mackinac remains under review and is hotly contested for environmental reasons. S. Gulf Coast.
The company’s Woodfibre LNG terminal is slated to come online in 2027 in British Columbia. Enbridge develops offshore wind farms in Europe. Enbridge announced a massive solar farm campus last year to power a Meta data center complex outside of San Antonio.
The company recently built the Sequoia solar farm in Texas for Toyota and AT&T. Enbridge is building gas pipelines and solar farms to service hyperscalers’ data centers and is working closely with Google, Amazon, and Meta. “In all of our businesses, both on the renewable side and the gas distribution and transmission side, we are hooking up or building projects for data centers for AI,” Greg Ebel said, according to Fortune.
U.S. and Canada. S. oil to the rest of the world from that hub.
U.S. Natural gas directly to Mexico. S. natural gas. S. states and eight of the 10 Canadian provinces. “We like being part of that North American energy dominance play,” Greg Ebel said.
“One of the unfortunate—but positive for North America—outcomes of this Middle East situation will be a greater recognition that there’s less of a risk premium needed in North America,” he added. “At least for a very long time, people will wonder about the security of supply from that [Middle East] region. I think that’s a real winner for North American LNG that is safe and secure,” Ebel stated.
“We want to be the first choice for energy delivery in North America and beyond,” Greg Ebel said. Crude oil is excluded from President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada. “There have not been, nor do I believe there will be, discussion of tariffs on Canadian energy coming south,” Ebel said.
Enbridge is based in Calgary and its name is a contraction of energy bridge. The company is the largest oil and gas pipeline company in the world by market cap, with a market cap of $120 billion. Enbridge is the fourth-largest Canadian company by market cap and trails Shopify in market cap among Canadian companies.
Enbridge ranks one spot above Netflix in the Fortune Global 500. The company's market cap exceeds FedEx's market cap and exceeds UPS's market cap. Enbridge's market value is on par with BP's market value.
CEO Greg Ebel is a dual citizen and splits his time between Calgary and Houston. Ebel is a native of Ottawa and worked in the Canadian government before entering the energy sector. He also worked with the World Bank in Washington.
Enbridge got its start in 1949 as the Interprovincial Pipe Line Company. In 1998, Greg Ebel left politics and banking to enter the oil and gas sector.
In 1998, Greg Ebel joined Vancouver-based Westcoast Energy as a vice president. Westcoast Energy was acquired by Charlotte-based Duke Energy. Greg Ebel moved to Houston with Duke’s gas pipeline spinoff business, Spectra Energy.
Enbridge acquired Spectra in 2016. Greg Ebel was promoted to CEO of Enbridge in 2023.
Key Facts
Story Timeline
6 events- 2026-04
President Donald Trump issued a presidential permit to Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline for the St. Clair River border crossing between Michigan and Ontario.
1 sourceFortune - 2027
Enbridge’s Woodfibre LNG terminal is slated to come online in British Columbia.
1 sourceFortune - 2023
Greg Ebel was promoted to CEO of Enbridge.
1 sourceFortune - 2016
Enbridge acquired Spectra.
1 sourceFortune - 2009
Greg Ebel rose to CEO of Spectra Energy.
1 sourceFortune - 1998
The Interprovincial Pipe Line Company changed its name to Enbridge; Greg Ebel joined Vancouver-based Westcoast Energy as a vice president.
1 sourceFortune
Potential Impact
- 01
Expansion of solar and gas infrastructure for AI data centers, enhancing Enbridge's renewable and utility revenues.
- 02
Exclusion of crude oil from U.S. tariffs on Canada, maintaining stable energy trade flows for Enbridge.
- 03
Growth in offshore wind and LNG projects, diversifying Enbridge's portfolio beyond traditional pipelines.
- 04
Potential resolution of Line 5 disputes, facilitating continued oil transport across U.S.-Canada border.
Transparency Panel
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