CALGARY, ALBERTA--Enbridge today announced that it has completed
the transfer of the Midcoast, Northeast Texas and South Texas
natural gas systems to Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (the
"Partnership") for US$820 million. The transfer is subject to
adjustments for working capital and other items.
Enbridge Inc. holds an effective 14.1 per cent interest in the
Partnership, which owns the U.S. portion of the world's longest
liquid petroleum pipeline and is active in natural gas gathering,
processing and transmission.
"We are pleased to complete this transfer of assets to the
Partnership, as we had committed to do," said Patrick D. Daniel,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Enbridge. "This transfer
advances a number of strategic initiatives. It transforms the
Partnership by product and geography, it creates another growth
platform to facilitate U.S. expansion, and it provides a
significant source of cash proceeds which we will use to reduce
our debt to achieve the 60-to-65 per cent leverage target that we
set at the beginning of this year."
Enbridge Inc. is a leader in energy transportation and
distribution in North America and internationally. As a
transporter of energy, Enbridge operates, in Canada and the U.S.,
the world's longest crude oil and liquids transportation system.
The Company also is involved in international energy projects and
has 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,
which provides distribution services in Ontario, Quebec and New
York State; and is developing a gas distribution system for the
Province of New Brunswick. Enbridge employs approximately 4,000
people, primarily in Canada, the U.S. and South America.
Enbridge's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange in
Canada and on the New York Stock Exchange in the U.S. under the
symbol ENB. Information about Enbridge is available on the
Company's web site at www.enbridge.com.
When used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "expect",
"project", "believe", "estimate", "forecast" and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements,
which include statements relating to pending and proposed
projects. Such statements are subject to certain risks,
uncertainties and assumptions pertaining to operating performance,
regulatory parameters, weather and economic conditions and, in the
case of pending and proposed projects, risks relating to design
and construction, regulatory processes, obtaining financing and
performance of other parties, including partners, contractors and
suppliers.
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