The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday, Feb. 7, edition that the National Energy Board has given Enbridge the nod to open its reversed Line 9 pipeline, providing Western oil producers with direct access to Quebec refineries for the first time in 17 years. The Globe's Shawn McCarthy and Jeff Lewis write that the approval came as the oil sands industry and its governmental backers won a long battle in Europe to avoid punitive treatment on fuel regulations aimed at reducing carbon emissions, a victory that could allow for Canadian crude exports to the continent. The NEB okayed the Line 9 reversal last March, but then held up the project citing deficiencies in Enbridge's safety plan. It said Friday the number and placement of emergency shut-off valves on the 300,000-barrel-a-day pipeline is now "appropriate." The pipeline reversal provides needed access for Western crude producers, though the two refineries in Quebec -- Suncor Energy's plant in Montreal and Valero Energy's one near Quebec City -- can process only limited quantities of heavy, oil sands bitumen. Enbridge says it supports the safety and operating conditions imposed by the regulator and will fulfill them.