CBJ June 29 - Enbridge Inc. said Monday it plans a $400-million expansion of its Waupisoo oilsands pipeline system and is joining a carbon-capture project near Edmonton backed by power producers TransAlta Inc and Capital Power Corp.

Enbridge, Canada's No. 2 pipeline company, said producers have committed to ship another 229,000 barrels a day on Enbridge's Waupisoo system, requiring an 255,000 bpd expansion of the line, which currently handles up to 350,000 barrels of oilsands crude daily.

Oil companies are again expanding operations in the oilsands after investment in the region dried up as commodity prices stagnated during the recession. Suncor Energy Inc., Total SA, Imperial Oil Ltd. and others are expanding existing operations or launching new projects as oil prices firm.

The expansion of the Waupisoo system, which gathers oil from projects and delivers it 380 km to a pipeline hub near Edmonton, will be done in two phases. The first 65,000 bpd section will be complete in the second half of 2012, then a 190,000-bpd expansion will be added in the second half of 2013.

The expansion cements Enbridge's position as the largest pipeline operator in the oilsands region, gathering the oil to ship on its larger lines to the United States and Canada and making the company a likely choice for new producers in the region.