Enbridge has agreed to acquire the Aitken Creek natural gas storage facilities in British Columbia, Canada from Fortis for a sum of C$400m ($295.4m).
In this connection, Enbridge has signed a definitive agreement through its fully-owned subsidiary with Fortis’ subsidiary FortisBC.
Enbridge will acquire Fortis’ interest in FortisBC Midstream, which has a 93.8% ownership of the Aitken Creek gas storage facility and a 100% stake in the Aitken Creek North gas storage facility.
Fortis acquired the natural gas storage assets in 2016 from Chevron Canada Properties for $266m.
Fortis president and CEO David Hutchens said: “We are pleased to announce the sale of Aitken Creek to Enbridge. This unregulated asset sale further strengthens our balance sheet and provides additional funding flexibility to support our regulated utility growth strategy.”
Aitken Creek is an underground natural gas storage facility. Its total working gas capacity is 77 billion cubic feet.
The gas storage assets are situated 120km northeast of Fort St. John, British Columbia.
According to Enbridge, as the assets are located in the heart of the Montney production region, they are an integral part of the natural gas transmission system in Western Canada.
Besides, Aitken Creek is the only storage facility that connects to all three important long-haul natural gas transportation lines in the region, including Enbridge’s own Westcoast pipeline and Alliance pipeline.
Enbridge executive vice president and gas transmission and midstream president Cynthia Hansen said: “Enbridge is pleased to acquire Aitken Creek Storage, a well-located and connected facility that will enable us to continue to meet regional energy needs as well as support increasing demand for west coast LNG exports.
“Natural gas plays an increasingly important role in the energy transition, and this investment further aligns with Enbridge’s focus on providing the affordable, sustainable and reliable energy that is needed now and into the future.”
The deal, which is subject to British Columbia Utilities Commission’s approval and other regulatory approvals and conditions, is anticipated to close later this year.
