enbridge

ENBRIDGE INC., $43.71, Toronto symbol ENB, announced this week that U.S.-based Marathon Petroleum Corp. (New York symbol MPC) will invest in its proposed Sandpiper pipeline, which would pump oil from North Dakota’s Bakken shale formation to U.S. refineries. Under the deal, Marathon will cover $975 million (37.5%) of Sandpiper’s $2.6-billion cost. In exchange, Marathon will get a 27% stake in Enbridge’s North Dakota pipeline system. Enbridge’s share of Sandpiper’s cost is $1.625 billion. That’s equal to 1.5 times the $1.1 billion, or $1.33 a share, that it earned in the nine months ended September 30, 2013....

SUNCOR ENERGY INC., $36.80, Toronto symbol SU, announced this week that it will develop its Fort Hill oil sands property north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. Suncor owns 40.8% of Fort Hills, and will operate the project. Total S.A. of France owns 39.2%, while Teck Resources (see below) holds the remaining 20.0%. Fort Hills’ reserves should last 50 years. The company will contribute $5.5 billion to Fort Hills’ $13.5-billion cost. The project should begin operating in the fourth quarter of 2017. It should ultimately produce 180,000 barrels a day; Suncor’s share is 73,440 barrels. To put that in context, Suncor’s average daily production in the third quarter of 2013 rose 11.2%, to 595,000 barrels of oil equivalent from 535,300 barrels a year earlier....

ENBRIDGE INC. $42.55 (Toronto symbol ENB; Shares outstanding: 825.7 million; Market cap: $35.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Yield: 3.0%) invested $23.8 million in 2010 for a 20% interest in the 35-megawatt Neal Hot Springs facility in Oregon, which was then under construction. U.S. Geothermal (New York symbol HTM) owns the other 80%.

The plant, which taps into heat from below the earth’s crust, has now started up.

The renewable energy facility is a small one for pipeline operator Enbridge, which also owns 12 wind farms and four solar plants. But these should help deflect criticism from environmentalists opposed to some of its pipelines, as well as let it steadily diversify into power generation.
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U.S. Geothermal, $0.42, symbol HTM on New York (Shares outstanding: 102.1 million; Market cap: $42.4 million; www.usgeothermal.com), is in the renewable energy business. The company acquires and develops geothermal systems in the western U.S. Geothermal energy is the natural heat energy stored in the earth’s crust. In some areas, geothermal energy is commercially viable and can be converted into electricity. U.S. Geothermal operates three power plants; Neal Hot Springs in Oregon (20% of which it just sold to Enbridge) Raft River Unit I in Idaho and a facility in Nevada’s San Emidio Desert....

Macro Enterprises, $6.42, symbol MCR on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 29.1 million; Market cap: $185.7 million; www.macroenterprises.ca), is a Calgary-based company that builds and maintains pipelines and other facilities. Its clients include Enbridge, Talisman, TransCanada, Cenovus, Nexen, Spectra, AltaGas and Pembina. In the three months ended June 30, 2013, Macro’s revenue rose 34.1%, to $37.3 million from $27.8 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose sharply, to $0.21 from $0.11. The company holds cash of $9.4 million, or $0.32 a share. Its $14.2 million of debt is a low 7.6% of its $185.7-million market cap....

SNC-LAVALIN GROUP INC., $44.62, Toronto symbol SNC, rose 8% this week after it said that it plans to sell all or part of AltaLink, which provides electricity to 85% of Alberta’s population through 12,000 kilometres of power lines and 280 substations. SNC could also spin off AltaLink as a separate publicly traded firm. The company did not say when it expects to complete this process. As of June 30, 2013, AltaLink’s net book value was $856.8 million. That’s equal to 13% of SNC’s $6.8-billion market cap (or the value of all its outstanding shares). The sale is part of SNC’s plan to sell some of its less important operations. The company will invest the cash from these sales in engineering projects in areas with strong potential, such as mining, water treatment and oil and gas....

ENBRIDGE INC. $42.55 (Toronto symbol ENB; Shares outstanding: 825.7 million; Market cap: $35.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Yield: 3.0%) invested $23.8 million in 2010 for a 20% interest in the 35-megawatt Neal Hot Springs facility in Oregon, which was then under construction....

ENBRIDGE INC. $42 (Toronto symbol ENB; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 1.0 billion; Market cap: $42.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 3.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.enbridge.com) has opened its first geothermal power plant. This facility, which is located near Vale, Oregon, taps into heat from the earth’s core to generate electricity.

Enbridge paid $23.8 million for a 20% stake in this plant. U.S. Geothermal Inc. (New York symbol HTM) owns the other 80%.

Power from geothermal plants is much more reliable than solar and wind projects. That cuts the risk of this investment. As well, the plant has a 25-year deal to sell its electricity to Idaho’s power grid.
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VERESEN $11.74 (Toronto symbol VSN; Shares outstanding: 199.9 million; Market cap: $2.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Yield: 8.5%) owns pipelines, power plants and gas-processing facilities across North America. A major holding is 50% of the Alliance gas line, which runs 3,000 kilometres between Chicago and Fort St. John, B.C. Enbridge owns the other 50%. Veresen also owns the Alberta Ethane Gathering System, and Veresen and Enbridge together hold 85.4% of the Aux Sable NGL plant.

In February 2012, Veresen paid Encana Corp. $920 million for the Hythe/Steeprock natural gas gathering and processing complex. Encana signed a long-term deal to buy most of this facility’s gas.

To diversify beyond pipelines and gas-processing plants, Veresen continues to expand its power generation business. This includes hydroelectric facilities, wind farms, natural gas fired plants and waste-heat facilities.
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BLACKBERRY LTD., $8.28, Toronto symbol BB, has accepted a $9.00 U.S.-a-share takeover offer from a consortium led by Fairfax Financial Holdings (Toronto symbol FFH). Fairfax is the smartphone maker’s largest investor, with roughly 10% of its outstanding shares. This tentative agreement gives BlackBerry until November 4, 2013, to secure a better deal. It will also give Fairfax and its potential partners time to examine BlackBerry’s financial condition. If BlackBerry accepts a rival offer, it will have to pay a $157.2-million U.S. break fee to Fairfax. That fee would rise to around $262 million U.S. if the company signs a binding deal with Fairfax and does not go through with it. However, Fairfax would not have to pay a fee if it cancels the deal....