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Blue flame, bright future: 2017 Enbridge Day series (Part 2 of 3)

Published: January 30, 2018

Enbridge’s gas transmission business is a stable, connected and growing revenue workhorse

It’s about first mile, last mile, and a very impressive network in between.

Enbridge’s gas transmission business is already a revenue workhorse following the company’s February 2017 merger with Spectra Energy Corp—a “lynchpin to Enbridge’s future” and “assets that are critical to Enbridge’s energy future,” in the words of Enbridge executive Bill Yardley.

And while Enbridge’s overall natural gas pipeline network spans tens of thousands of miles across the United States and Canada, it’s the reach of our gas transmission pipes that makes the difference.

With the best first- and last-mile advantage, Enbridge’s gas transmission network connects major supply and demand centers—directly linking North America’s most prolific supply areas and major storage facilities with the continent’s major utilities and electric generators.

“Some pipelines move gas in between hubs with no real first- or last-mile connections. Some are fortunate to have one, or the other. We have both,” said Mr. Yardley, Executive Vice President and President of our Gas Transmission and Midstream division, during our recent Enbridge Day 2017 Annual Investment Community Conference in New York and Toronto.

“These gas assets are the envy of the industry,” he added, “in virtually any economic or energy environment.”

Enbridge’s gas transmission business is also a foundational element of our three-year strategic plan, which was outlined during Enbridge Day 2017.

With favorable fundamentals, fully contracted pipelines, consistently high renewal rates, strategically located assets, and a customer base consisting largely of stable or steadily growing gas and electric companies, these transmission assets provide long-term value and stability.

And, as Mr. Yardley pointed out, “as our customers grow, we grow.” In fact, 2017 was one of the busiest project years for Enbridge’s gas transmission business, with more than 20 signed projects in some phase of execution, including:

  • Sabal Trail, a joint venture with NextEra and Duke Energy now delivering 830,000 MMcf/d of natural gas to the U.S. Southeast, the largest of our projects that went into service in 2017;
  • Valley Crossing, the largest gas export pipeline to Mexico, expected to be complete by late 2018; and
  • The NEXUS Gas Transmission project, with 255 miles of greenfield pipe, which began construction in October and will move 1.5 Bcf/d of Marcellus gas to markets in Ohio, Michigan and Ontario when placed into service in 2018.

The longer-term picture looks equally bright, since Enbridge’s geographical footprint overlays some of North America’s largest expected demand growth in natural gas.

Long-term opportunities are expected as a result of:

  • Rising demand in the Gulf Coast, the rapidly growing epicenter of America’s LNG export activities;
  • Retiring electricity generation sources being replaced by natural gas in the U.S. Northeast and New England;
  • Continued growth in natural gas-fired power generation in the U.S. Southeast; and
  • Expansions in the Montney and Duvernay producing regions of Western Canada.

“The geography of our pipelines . . . keeps us in the conversation for almost any desired expansion, whether for producers looking to access markets or our utility customers needing more for their steady growth,” said Mr. Yardley.

“Natural gas has a bright future. It’s nice to be such a critical, stable and growing jewel in the crown that is Enbridge.”

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