Imperial Oil has temporarily shut down its Winnipeg Products Pipeline between Gretna and a Winnipeg terminal after inspections earlier this year led the company to make the proactive decision to carry out preventative maintenance to ensure the continued integrity of the line.

"The work includes replacing a section of the pipeline that runs under the Red River, south of Winnipeg," noted a company news release issued Sunday. "As a result, the line will be out of service for approximately three months beginning in mid-March."

Imperial’s Winnipeg Products Pipeline transports gasoline, diesel and jet fuel to customers in the greater Winnipeg region. Imperial and third-party customers ship on the line. 

According to a news release issued by the Province, also on Sunday, the section of pipeline that requires repair is located just south of St. Adolphe.

"The line was not compromised and no materials were spilled into the environment," explained the Province's release. "The province is engaged in oversight of the repair work to ensure all precautions are taken to protect the surrounding environment." 

The Manitoba government has activated its Incident Command Structure to mitigate impact to the provincial economy and closely monitor repairs.

"While repairs are completed, the province has convened a ‘supplier table’ comprised of Manitoba’s largest fuel suppliers to help support the management of the fuel supply being brought into the province," continued the government statement. "These industry partners are leveraging extensive supply networks and actively working to minimize customer and end-user impacts by maintaining Manitoba’s fuel supply through other means including rail and truck."

Imperial also announced its plan to manage supply during the disruption:   

• Gasoline – Supply to be managed by adding additional storage and loading capacity at the Gretna terminal, sourcing alternate supply by rail and truck to our Winnipeg terminal, and arranging for customers to use other supply points outside of the region where possible.
• Diesel – Supply to be managed by rail and increasing the rail offload capacity at our Winnipeg terminal
• Jet – Supply to be managed by truck