HOUSTON & CALGARY, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Enbridge Inc. (NYSE/TSX:ENB) and Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) today announced that they have secured capacity commitments from shippers to proceed with an expansion of the Seaway Pipeline that will more than double its capacity to 850,000 (“BPD”) by mid-2014. During the supplemental binding open commitment period, Enterprise and Enbridge received additional commitments with terms ranging from five to 20 years that support construction of a 512-mile, 30-inch diameter twin (a parallel line) along the route of the Seaway Pipeline, adding 450,000 barrels per day (“BPD”) of capacity to the existing system. This capacity can be cost-effectively expanded on a timely basis with the addition of incremental pump stations.
Enbridge also announced today plans to proceed with an expansion of its Flanagan South Project, which will add incremental capacity for shippers seeking transportation from Flanagan, Illinois, to the U.S. Gulf Coast, utilizing a portion of capacity on the reversed Seaway Pipeline System.
The additional commitments obtained for the Seaway Pipeline System include five and 10-year commitments for volumes originating at Cushing, Oklahoma and 10, 15 and 20-year commitments for volumes originating at Flanagan, Illinois and transiting to the Seaway System via Enbridge’s Flanagan South Pipeline. Substantially all of the initial capacity of the Seaway System has been contracted for these terms. Enterprise and Enbridge are nearing completion of the first phase of the reversal of the Seaway Pipeline, which will provide 150,000 BPD of southbound takeaway capacity from Cushing to the Gulf Coast by June 1, 2012. Following pump station additions and modifications, which are expected to be completed by the first quarter 2013, capacity would increase to 400,000 BPD, assuming a mix of light and heavy grades of crude oil.
“Based on the tremendous response to the open commitment period, shippers have recognized the advantages Seaway offers in being able to provide a timely, economic and complete solution for relieving not only the bottleneck at Cushing but facilitating the development and delivery of North American energy reserves,” said Michael A. Creel, president and chief executive officer of Enterprise’s general partner. “In addition to promoting energy independence, the Seaway expansion will also offer economic benefits, including job opportunities during construction and at North American mills that we expect will provide the pipe for the project.”
“Expansion of the Seaway Pipeline, along with Enbridge’s Flanagan South Project, will provide crude oil producers in the Bakken region and other emerging crude oil sources capacity to move secure, reliable supply to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries, offsetting supplies of imported crude,” said Pat Daniel, Chief Executive Officer, Enbridge Inc. “By leveraging existing infrastructure wherever possible, impacts to landowners, communities and the environment will be minimized.”
The Seaway partners previously announced construction of a new 85-mile 30-inch diameter pipeline that will be built from Enterprise’s ECHO crude oil terminal southeast of Houston to the Port Arthur/Beaumont, Texas refining center, which will give shippers access to heavy oil refineries on the Gulf Coast. Service on the pipeline to Port Arthur/Beaumont is expected to begin in early 2014. A separate open season for the ECHO to Port Arthur leg is underway and due to end April 13, 2012. This open season is offering interested shippers 200,000 BPD of incremental capacity over and above the volumes already subscribed to as part of the Seaway reversal project.
About Enterprise Products Partners L.P.
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. is one of the largest publicly traded partnerships and a leading North American provider of midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, NGLs, crude oil, refined products and petrochemicals. The partnership’s assets include approximately: 50,600 miles of onshore and offshore pipelines; 190 million barrels of storage capacity for NGLs, petrochemicals, refined products and crude oil; and 14 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage capacity. Services include: natural gas gathering, treating, processing, transportation and storage; NGL transportation, fractionation, storage, and import and export terminaling; offshore production platform services; crude oil and refined products transportation, storage and terminaling; petrochemical transportation and storage; and a marine transportation business that operates primarily on the United States inland and Intracoastal Waterway systems and in the Gulf of Mexico.
About Enbridge Inc.
Enbridge Inc. is a North American leader in delivering energy and one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations. 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 has a significant and growing involvement in natural gas gathering, transmission and midstream businesses, and an increasing involvement in power transmission. 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. As a generator of energy, Enbridge has interests close to 1,000 megawatts of renewable and alternative energy generating capacity and is expanding its interests in wind and solar energy, geothermal and hybrid fuel cells. Enbridge employs approximately 6,900 people, primarily in Canada and the U.S. and is ranked as one of Canada's Greenest Employers, and one of the Top 100 Companies to Work for in Canada. Enbridge's common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol ENB. For more information, visit www.enbridge.com.
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission and “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation (collectively, “forward-looking statements”). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein that address activities, events, developments or transactions that Enterprise and Enbridge expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future, including anticipated benefits and other aspects of such activities, events, developments or transactions, are forward-looking statements. Although Enterprise and Enbridge believe that the forward-looking statements included herein are based on information and assumptions which are current, reasonable and complete, these statements are necessarily subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, including required approvals by regulatory agencies, the possibility that the anticipated benefits from such activities, events, developments or transactions cannot be fully realized, the possibility that costs or difficulties related thereto will be greater than expected, the impact of competition and other risks and uncertainties included in the reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Enterprise and Enbridge, respectively, and in the filings made by Enbridge with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. While Enterprise and Enbridge make 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 differ materially from those expected. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. Except as required by law, neither Enterprise nor Enbridge intends to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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