The business includes 19 natural gas processing plants and liquids handling facilities and is spread across Montney, Peace River Arch, Horn River and Liard basins in British Columbia and Alberta, Enbridge said in a news release.
“This investment represents an exciting opportunity to invest in scale in one of North America’s leading gas gathering and processing businesses based in Western Canada,” Brookfield Infrastructure CEO Sam Pollock said in a statement Wednesday, reports the Globe and Mail.
Enbridge moves toward restructuring
Calgary-based Enbridge has been under pressure to sell off noncore assets and reduce its debt. On May 17, the company announced it would purchase its independent units including Spectra Energy Partners and Enbridge Energy Partners as well as its pipeline assets and bring them under a single listed entity.
Enbridge also signed a $1.75-billion agreement with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board – selling a 49 percent stake in its solar and wind power assets. In another deal, Enbridge sold its Midcoast Operating LP to an affiliate of private equity firm ArcLight Capital Partners LLC for $1.44 billion.
The move was part of the company’s plan to simplify and streamline Enbridge’s corporate and capital structure. It is also part of a strategy to move the company toward a purely regulated pipeline and utility business model, according to Chief executive Al Monaco, reports the Financial Post.
Enbridge is not letting go of its long-haul natural gas transmission assets which include the Westcoast transmission system in British Columbia and the Alliance pipeline that carries natural gas from Western Canada to the Chicago market – and the company says its three-year financial guidance remains unchanged.
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. is a publicly traded limited partnership with corporate headquarters in Toronto, Canada, that engages in the acquisition and management of infrastructure assets on a global basis.
