CALGARY, ALBERTA and HOUSTON, TEXAS--(CCNMatthews - June 20, 2006) - Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB) (NYSE:ENB) today announced that its U.S. subsidiary Enbridge Offshore Pipelines, L.L.C. and partner MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. (MarkWest) have acquired a 14-mile, 12-inch diameter pipeline through their jointly owned Triton Gathering, LLC (Triton) natural gas gathering system to transport production from West Cameron Blocks 62 and 75 to the Stingray Pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico.
The new Triton lateral - which will serve new natural gas development in the area owned by El Paso Production Company, Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and The Houston Exploration Company - will connect a significant new source of "deep-shelf" gas to the Stingray pipeline system and is equipped with four sub-sea taps to accommodate future developments in the area providing a capacity of 200 million cubic feet per day. The West Cameron 62 and 75 development began production in May 2006.
Triton is a non-FERC-regulated natural gas pipeline company, which owns several laterals that gather gas from various offshore third-party fields to Stingray Pipeline.
Stingray is a 325-mile, FERC-regulated, gas pipeline system, which transports gas and injected condensate from the High Island, West Cameron, East Cameron, Vermillion and Garden Banks areas in the Gulf of Mexico to onshore transmission systems located in southwest Louisiana. Stingray Pipeline Company, L.L.C. is owned by Enbridge Offshore (50 per cent) and MarkWest (50 per cent).
Enbridge Offshore Pipelines provides Enbridge with wholly owned or joint venture interests in 11 transmission and gathering pipelines in five major pipeline corridors in Louisiana and Mississippi offshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The system moves on average approximately 3 billion cubic feet per day - approximately half of all deepwater Gulf of Mexico natural gas production.
Enbridge Inc., a Canadian company, is a leader in energy transportation and distribution in North America and internationally. As a transporter of energy, Enbridge operates, in Canada and the United States, the world's longest crude oil and liquids pipeline system. The Company also has international operations and a growing involvement in the natural gas transmission and midstream businesses. As a distributor of energy, Enbridge owns and operates Canada's largest natural gas distribution company, and provides distribution services in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State. Enbridge employs approximately 4,600 people, primarily in Canada, the United States and South America. Enbridge's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada and on the New York Stock Exchange in the United States under the symbol ENB. Information about Enbridge is available on the Company's website at www.enbridge.com.
MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. is a publicly traded master limited partnership with a solid core of midstream assets and a growing core of gas transmission assets. It is the largest processor of natural gas in the Northeast and is the largest gatherer of natural gas in the prolific Carthage field in east Texas. It also has a growing number of other gas gathering and intrastate gas transmission assets in the Southwest, primarily in Texas and Oklahoma. The partnership's limited units trade on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol MWE. Information about MarkWest and the owner of its general partner, MarkWest Hydrocarbon, Inc., is available at www.markwest.com.
Certain information provided in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate", "expect", "project", "estimate", "forecast" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Although Enbridge believes that these statements are based on information and assumptions which are current, reasonable and complete, these statements are necessarily subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties pertaining to operating performance, regulatory parameters, weather, economic conditions and commodity prices. You can find a discussion of those risks and uncertainties in our Canadian securities filings and American SEC filings. While Enbridge makes these forward-looking statements in good faith, should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary significantly from those expected. Enbridge assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.