Enbridge said today it will pay for two-thirds of US-based Enbridge Energy Partners' $1.2 billion segment of the Alberta Clipper crude oil pipeline project.

Under the agreement, Enbridge will take part in the debt financing that the partnership raises for the project, and will channel two-thirds of the project's equity requirements directly into a subsidiary that is building the link, a Reuters report said.

Enbridge will be entitled to two-thirds of the earnings and cash flow that an Enbridge limited partnership generates from the project.

The 36-inch-diameter pipe, which will run from Hardisty, Alberta, to Superior, Wisconsin, is scheduled to be in service by the middle of next year.

The line will have an initial capacity of 450,000 barrels per day and allow for expansion to increase capacity up to 800,000 bpd.

The segment from Hardisty to the US border is being built by Enbridge Pipelines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Enbridge, at a cost of C$2.4 billion (US$2.2 billion).

The segment from the US border to Superior is being built by Enbridge Energy Partners.