Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE: EEP) (EEP) announced today that its previously disclosed transaction to acquire an effective 27.6 percent interest in the Bakken Pipeline System (Bakken Pipeline or the System) has closed as final conditions have now been met.
The System consists of the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Energy Transfer Crude Oil Pipeline projects, both of which will be operated by Energy Transfer Partners, L.P., and connects the prolific Bakken formation in North Dakota to eastern PADD II and the U.S. Gulf Coast. Construction of the Bakken Pipeline is well advanced and approximately 95 percent complete.
EEP will initially fund the $1.5 billion acquisition through a bridge loan provided by an affiliate of Enbridge Inc. This bridge loan will remain in place until a joint funding arrangement with Enbridge and its affiliates is finalized. Joint funding terms are expected to be completed during the second quarter as part of the ongoing strategic review underway at EEP. While the terms of the joint funding arrangement are yet to be finalized, EEP's initial investment has typically been in the order of 25 percent for prior joint funding arrangements.
"We're pleased with the opportunity to add this investment to the EEP liquids pipeline portfolio," said Mark Maki, President for EEP. "The project is expected to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns and is underpinned by a significant level of take-or-pay contracts with high credit quality counterparties. In addition, the investment offers the potential for future low-cost expansions."
About Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. owns and operates a diversified portfolio of crude oil and, through its interests in Midcoast Energy Partners, L.P. ("Midcoast Partners") (NYSE: MEP), natural gas transportation systems in the United States. Its principal crude oil system is the largest pipeline transporter of growing oil production from western Canada and the North Dakota Bakken formation. The system's deliveries to refining centers and connected carriers in the United States account for approximately 23 percent of total U.S. oil imports. Midcoast Partners' natural gas gathering, treating, processing and transmission assets, which are principally located onshore in the active U.S. Mid-Continent and Gulf Coast areas, deliver approximately 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily.
