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Operations coordinator Doug Rotzien works at the Enbridge Pipelines oil terminal facility in Hardisty, Alta., June 20, 2007. Alberta's oil pipeline hub, where millions of barrels of crude flow each day to pipelines that feed markets in Canada and the United States is a beehive of activity. But with rising expenses for labour, electricity, transportation and rig costs, oil producers are finding that the profit margins on US$70-per barrel oil aren't that much different than when crude was $40 a barrel.Larry MacDougal

A third Enbridge Inc. pipeline has been hit with a small leak.

A spokesman for the company confirmed Monday afternoon that a small amount of oil spilled from Line 10, a 70,000 barrel-per-day pipeline that runs between Westover, Ont., and Kiantone, N.Y.

The accident took place in a Buffalo suburb, Enbridge said.

An Enbridge spokesman cast doubt late Monday on earlier comments from the company that the pipeline was clipped by a backhoe during a maintenance dig.

"This is a potential very small-volume leak and we're currently investigating," said Glenn Herchak. "But we honestly don't know [what happened] We're just in an initial investigation.

Line 10 is just 150 kilometres long, but its closing comes as a further blow to Enbridge, which is already working to clean up two other spills -- one in Michigan, which happened in July, and another in Illinois, which took place late last week.

"We've got personnel on site and we're sending additional resources to the site to help with the investigation," Mr. Herchak said. "We have either notified or are in the process of notifying all appropriate regulatory authorities."

Line 10 carries a broad array of products, from distillates to light and heavy oil, according to an Enbridge corporate presentation.

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