Calgary-based Enbridge on the march in United States

Gary Park

Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

Canadian pipeline company Enbridge is accelerating its growth in the United States by starting an open season to test support for a planned addition to its East Texas natural gas pipeline network.

Backed by a healthy war chest and untainted by the Enron fallout that bruised its U.S. counterparts, Enbridge is counting on a host of expansion opportunities this year and next as companies unload assets to repair their balance sheets.

The open season, which closes Sept.17, is for a planned 500 million cubic feet per day of additions to the Calgary-based company’s gathering and transmission systems.

Producers in the East Texas Boosier and Barnett shale plays face transportation constraints as they ramp up output.

The East Texas project comes only two weeks after Enbridge said it is exploring the need for a pipeline from the U.S. Rocky Mountain region to Chicago — a possible 1,000 mile link carrying 1 billion cubic feet per day and tapping into the gas-rich Powder River Basin.

Enbridge is loaded for action following its decision in May to convert two pipeline assets worth about C$850 million into the Enbridge Income Fund, with cash proceeds from the initial public offering expected to yield up to C$350 million.

The company is also exploring a role in the liquefied natural gas sector that is weeping North America, although it doubts that all of the flurry of fresh proposals will be carried to completion.