Canada's Enbridge sells US$3.1b of gas assets

[MONTREAL] Canadian oil pipeline operator Enbridge on Wednesday announced the C$4.1 sale (S$4.2 billion) of natural gas processing and distribution units to investment fund Brookfield Infrastructure.

The sale comprised 19 sites in the western provinces of British Columbia and Alberta with a capacity of 3.3 billion cubic feet of gas per day and 3,550km of pipeline, according to a statement by the Calgary-based group.

It must be approved by both provincial authorities and the federal government, which should happen in about a year, according to Enbridge and Brookfield.

The investment fund, which was founded in Toronto but registered in Bermuda and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, said in a statement the infrastructure was strategically positioned to connect high demand markets including the northwestern and central US and western Canada.

Brookfield Infrastructure is a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management which handles about US$285 billion in worldwide assets.

Enbridge has now sold C$7.5 billion in assets in 2018, according to its CEO Al Monaco, who added the initial goal had been to monetize some C$3 billion this year.

In May Enbridge announced the sale of just over US$1.1 billion of natural and liquified gas assets in the US to a subsidiary of the US investment firm ArcLight Capital Partners.

AFP