TEXT-S&P affirms Enbridge Inc 'A-' ratings
(The following statement was released by the rating agency)
Nov 10 - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today said it affirmed its ratings, including its 'A-' long-term corporate credit rating, on Calgary, Alta.-based Enbridge Inc. (ENB.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) The outlook is stable.
"In our opinion, the ratings on Enbridge reflect the strong market position of the company's two major subsidiaries, Enbridge Pipelines Inc. and Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc.; the company's significant regulated and long-term contracted cash flows; and its conservative operational risk management," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Kenton Freitag. "We believe high capital outlays and funding pressures associated with the company's significant growth plans offset these strengths," Mr. Freitag added.
Enbridge is a holding company with wholly and partially owned subsidiaries that focus primarily on owning and operating natural gas and oil pipelines in North America. Crude oil transportation is principally undertaken by the subsidiary Enbridge Pipelines (A-/Stable/--), while gas distribution is largely the domain of subsidiary Enbridge Gas (A-/Stable/--). Liquids pipelines provide about 40% of the group's earnings, and gas distribution represents approximately 26%. Sponsored investments, gas transmission, and international investments make up the rest.
Enbridge Pipelines operates the world's longest crude oil and liquids pipeline: the Enbridge System in Canada and the Lakehead System in the U.S. Enbridge Pipelines owns the Enbridge System; one of Enbridge's sponsored investments, Enbridge Energy Partners L.P. (BBB/Negative/--), owns the Lakehead System. The Enbridge System is the dominant pipeline out of Canada's largest oil-producing region, transporting about two-thirds of western Canada's crude oil production.
Enbridge Gas is the largest natural gas distributor in Canada, serving more than 1.9 million customers in central and eastern Ontario. Its monopoly position supports its strong business risk profile.
The stable outlook reflects our expectation that Enbridge's growth strategy, although aggressive, will not compromise the company's strong business risk profile nor materially weaken the financial risk profile in the long term. Maintaining adequate liquidity is a key risk in the next few months. Failure to maintain credit line availability near current levels or material execution difficulties on its projects could lead to a negative outlook or downgrade. A positive outlook or ratings uplift is not likely, given the project-related funding pressures during the next three years.
Complete ratings information is available to subscribers of RatingsDirect, the real-time Web-based source for Standard & Poor's credit ratings, research, and risk analysis, at www.ratingsdirect.com. All ratings affected by this rating action can be found on Standard & Poor's public Web site at www.standardandpoors.com; select your preferred country or region, then Ratings in the left navigation bar, followed by Credit Ratings Search. (New York Ratings Team)
© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved
India Investment Summit 2009
Top executives and bankers discuss their own plans and the broader opportunities and challenges for India. Full Coverage
GLOBAL RECOVERY
Global economy in holding pattern - IMF
The global economy is in a holding pattern and vulnerable to more upheaval, the head of the IMF said, adding a lasting recovery will depend on policymakers taking the proper steps in the coming months. Full Article





India
US
UK










