Calgary

Enbridge Energy Partners suffers $406.4M US loss in wake of Sandpiper pipeline deferral

Enbridge Energy Partners LP says it had a $406.4-million US loss in the third quarter, primarily due to the long-term deferral of the proposed Sandpiper pipeline in the U.S. Midwest.

Texas affiliate of Calgary-based company reports income down $1.127B from last year

Workers unload pipes in May 2015 for the proposed Dakota Access oil pipeline that would stretch from the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota to Illinois. (Nati Harnik/Associated Press)

Enbridge Energy Partners LP says it had a $406.4-million US loss in the third quarter, primarily due to the long-term deferral of the proposed Sandpiper pipeline in the U.S. Midwest.

Houston-based EEP and its general partner, Calgary-based Enbridge Inc., announced in September that plans for the Sandpiper project would be put on hold indefinitely.

That followed Enbridge's formation of a joint venture to buy a stake the alternative Bakken Pipeline project, to transport oil from North Dakota across the Midwest to Texas.

EEP's loss for the three months ended Sept. 30 amounted to $1.31 per EEP unit, which contrasted with $82.1 million US or seven cents per unit in the third quarter of 2015.

After adjustments that exclude the asset impairment related to Sandpiper and other items, EEP's net income was $89.3 million US or nine cents per share, down from $137.4 million US or 23 cents per share in the third quarter of 2015.

EEP's revenue was $1.12 billion US, down from $1.127 billion a year earlier.