CALGARY, Alberta and HOUSTON, Sept. 15, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB) (NYSE:ENB) and Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE:EEP) (the "Partnership") today reported progress towards restoration of operations in the U.S. Gulf Coast region affected by Hurricane Katrina.
Enbridge Inc.
Enbridge Inc. has interests in five pipeline corridors in the Gulf of Mexico. Of these, the Stingray, Garden Banks, and Green Canyon corridors have been assessed and are back in service delivering natural gas volumes at close to pre-hurricane levels. The lack of communications, which was a major problem immediately after the hurricane hit, was quickly rectified as telecommunications for the offshore pipeline control systems were switched to satellite channels to restore connections to the company's natural gas control centre in Houston.
The Mississippi Canyon corridor, which was in the direct path of the hurricane, is still not operating. Pipeline inspections, including a pipeline integrity test using an underwater side scan sonar, will be conducted within a week to check for abnormalities. Enbridge is in frequent discussions with the natural gas producers and the operator of the Venice processing facility in southeast Louisiana. The company is working on contingency plans for Mississippi Canyon flows to bypass the Venice processing plant, as over half of the flow on that system can bypass Venice processing should the damaged production platforms complete repairs and resume deliveries before the repair of the Venice processing facility. Since Enbridge is dependant on disclosures by producers and the Venice processing facility on timing of repairs, the company cannot predict the duration of the downtime for the Mississippi Canyon corridor.
The fifth corridor is the Destin corridor operated by Enbridge's joint venture partner BP. Destin received minimal or no damage, however, few volumes other than flows from interconnected onshore storage are moving on the corridor as downstream oil and natural gas liquids pipeline facilities owned by others experienced damage and are not operational.
"Enbridge is currently transporting approximately half of the 2.7 bcf/d of natural gas that we delivered from the Gulf of Mexico prior to Hurricane Katrina, including some gas nominated from onshore storage connected to the Destin corridor," said Enbridge President & Chief Executive Officer Patrick D. Daniel. "We're also completing our assessment of the Mississippi Canyon pipeline system this week to be ready for startup when upstream production operations resume."
Enbridge Inc. currently estimates the unfavourable impact on 2005 net income associated with its Enbridge Offshore Pipelines assets to be Cdn$10 million to Cdn$15 million. This estimate is subject to a number of factors including ongoing assessments and discussions with insurance carriers.
Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P.
Five of Enbridge Energy Partners' smaller onshore systems in the Gulf-area were affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Partnership is continuing to assess the extent of damage to its Gloria and Chalmette pipeline systems in Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes in South Louisiana and is still unable to predict how long those systems will be out of service. The Partnership's propylene pipeline in Jefferson, Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes remains out of service until the ExxonMobil Chalmette refinery is back online. The processing plant in Bazor Ridge, Mississippi was not significantly damaged and has restarted operations; the plant is expected to be at 100 percent capacity by September 16. The Partnership's Dufour trucking business based in Petal, Miss., has restored approximately 85 percent of its transportation and marketing operations; however, its CO2 plant and pipeline in New Orleans remain out of service.
The impacted facilities do not contribute significantly to the Partnership's overall earnings so, while revenues from these systems will be lower than expected, the impact is not expected to have a material affect on its 2005 full year earnings.
"Enbridge continues to provide assistance to its employees and their families in Louisiana and Mississippi," added Daniel. "While all employees were accounted for by Monday, September 5, 2005, at least 14 employees and their families were displaced from their homes by Hurricane Katrina. The company is providing assistance to displaced employees in the form of monetary grants, interest-free loans, temporary living arrangements, and power generators to help meet their needs. We sincerely appreciate the untold hours spent by other employees who assessed damage and began restoring facilities. I am proud of Enbridge and our employees' generosity throughout North America as we have continued contributions and volunteer efforts to aid in the relief and recovery effort."
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 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 4,000 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.
Enbridge Partners (www.enbridgepartners.com) owns the U.S. portion of the world's longest liquid petroleum pipeline and is active in natural gas gathering, processing and transmission. Enbridge Energy Management, L.L.C. (www.enbridgemanagement.com) manages the business and affairs of the Partnership, and its sole asset is an approximate 18 percent interest in the Partnership. Enbridge Energy Company, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Enbridge Inc. of Calgary, Alberta, is the general partner of Enbridge Partners and holds an approximate 11 percent effective interest in the Partnership.
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 that 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.