Discussing our Minnesota plans with a Twin Cities audience

Enbridge president and CEO talks about our planned $5B investment in new infrastructure

In the self-avowed State of Hockey, this amounts to an economic power play.

Al Monaco, president and CEO of Enbridge, made his first public speech in the Twin Cities on Friday, March 27, addressing a sold-out crowd of business executives and industry thought leaders during a Canada-Minnesota Business Council luncheon at the Minneapolis Club.

Feeling right at home in hockey-mad Minnesota – “this is the one place in the United States where I don’t have to apologize for not being as excited about baseball,” he joked – Mr. Monaco discussed Enbridge’s plans to invest $5-billion in new energy infrastructure in the state over the next three years.

Between the proposed Line 3 Replacement Project, the proposed Sandpiper Pipeline Project, and the Line 67 Upgrade Project, Enbridge will be creating more than 3,000 direct jobs, generating significant economic spinoffs, and building on the $30-million in annual tax revenue spent by the state of Minnesota on schools, hospitals, social programs, and infrastructure.

Minnesota is home to Enbridge’s U.S. crude oil and liquids pipeline business, with $2-billion invested over the past decade, 500 Enbridge staff statewide, and thousands more engaged as contractors to build projects and support Enbridge operations.

“We don’t look at ourselves as people who just build and operate pipelines. We’re proud of what we do, our role in the economy, and being part of this community,” Mr. Monaco told his lunchtime audience.

“We invest heavily in organizations essential to the health of our communities, and we help fund equipment and training for emergency first responders,” he added. “Because when your company and employees are part of a community, we believe it’s your responsibility to invest in that community.”

During his address, Mr. Monaco also discussed:

• Enbridge’s ongoing commitment to pipeline safety and protection of people and the environment, including state-of-the-art 24/7 monitoring, advanced leak detection technology, remote-controlled isolation valves, and thicker-walled pipe at water crossings;
• The need for pipeline infrastructure to support North America’s dramatic emergence as a global energy production leader, and Enbridge’s engagement in a $44-billion growth capital program as part of that transformation;
• Enbridge’s history in Minnesota dating back to 1950;
• And the international oil price decline in recent months, driven by global oversupply.

Enbridge’s market access initiatives will open up 1.7 million barrels per day of new North American refinery market access for producers by 2017.

“The long-term global fundamentals for energy are very strong, and we’ll continue to see the need for new energy infrastructure to support growth,” said Mr. Monaco. “Enbridge – and Minnesota – are critical to making that happen.”

Mr. Monaco’s full speech from Friday’s CMBC luncheon is available online at enbridge.com