Topic: How To Invest

ENBRIDGE INC. $50.81 – Toronto symbol ENB

ENBRIDGE INC. $50.81 (Toronto symbol ENB; Shares outstanding: 834.8 million; Market cap: $4242 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 2.8%; www.enbridge.com) has won approval from Ottawa for its Northern Gateway pipeline.

The line will pump crude from Alberta’s oil sands to Kitimat, B.C. From there, tankers would ship the oil to customers in Asia.

It will cost $7.9 billion to build this project. However, that estimate is sure to rise as other oil sands and pipeline projects drive up labour and material costs.

In addition, regulators have imposed 209 conditions on Enbridge, including a requirement that it carry $950 million of liability insurance to cover the cleanup of any potential oil spill.

The project still faces many hurdles. Environmentalists and First Nations could launch lawsuits on the basis that regulators based their recommendations on faulty data. The B.C. provincial government could also withhold construction permits. Any lengthy delays could prompt oil producers to ship their crude through other pipelines or by rail.

If Enbridge decides to build Northern Gateway, it could begin operating in late 2018.

Enbridge is still a buy.

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