A 28-month fight over access to Enbridge Inc.’s oil Mainline ended in defeat Friday for its plan to sell decades-long contracts to fill 90% of the conduit’s capacity for 3 million b/d to a handful of refineries and brokers.

enbridge

“Mainline contracting would likely reduce the access to pipeline capacity realistically available to certain shippers,” said the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) in a decision to continue a 71-year tradition of filling the pipe with monthly bookings available to all.

“The package of tolls, terms, and conditions in the service offering would result in a distribution of benefits and negative impacts that is uneven and disproportionate,” CER stated.

Enbridge said Sunday it accepted the CER decision and pledged to begin discussions within weeks on a...